Chuck Close Prints Show at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC

The Chuck Close show at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC presents more than 100 works in this first-ever survey of his groundbreaking collaborations in printmaking. These are some highlights and details for planning your visit to Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration.

Highlights of Chuck Close Prints at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC:

Most viewers will be familiar with the monumental faces in these works by Chuck Close (1940-) but this may be their first chance to see how they are built. The grids and proofs are displayed alongside the finished work to reveal the processes behind them. The show opens with his first print in 1972 resurrecting the 17th century technique of mezzotint and its velvety effects. From there, it travels through woodcuts, silk screen, aquatint and spitbite etching.

The show coincides with the recently published biography Chuck Close: Life by Christopher Finch, a former curator at the Walker Art Center and his friend of 40 years. If you missed the sold-out book talk at the Corcoran, you can still read the online transcript from a fascinating interview with the two of them at PBS Newshour. Close describes his lifelong struggle with neuromuscular problems and learning disabilities even before the aneurism that left him an incomplete quadriplegic. In fact, it was his prosopagnosia (face blindness) that drove him to study faces and break them down into flat images that he could remember. As he puts it, it's hard for a viewer to see a whole 9 foot image at once so they have to scan it in much the same way that he does while making it.

Every step in his printmaking is done by hand so a single work can take years to complete, and he focuses on the people he cares about. In addition to self portraits, the show includes images of his wife Leslie, the composer Philip Glass, and the artists Alex Katz and Lucas Samaras.

Visitor Information for Chuck Close Prints at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC:

Free Summer Saturdays make the show even more attractive. Regular admission is $12 for adults but it's now free on Saturdays through Labor Day Weekend. Children under 12 always get in free. Hours are 10 to 5, and it's closed Monday and Tuesday. The Corcoran is located at 500 Seventeenth Street NW.

Chuck Close Prints at the Corcoran Gallery runs through September 12, 2010. It's a great way to learn more about this renowned artist and the process of printmaking.