New Releases by Chuck Close

In January 2017 an exhibition of portrait art by Chuck Close was held in the 86th Street station of the newly opened Second Avenue Subway. This volume is a photographic record of that exhibition, featuring the subway station venue, the portraiture of Chuck Close, and Chuck Close himself who attended the exhibition. The photographs in this volume were taken by Lizzy Sullivan.

Chuck Close immediately liked the idea of a book without words. As a child, his severe dyslexia stood in the way of reading, making images all the more important. To this day, he remembers a visual encyclopedia from his early years and the feeling of being overtaken by the intensity of its pictures. The idea was also compatible with Closes ongoing interest in revealing the process of his work, which he accomplishes largely through visual presentation, using very few words, if any. Scribble Book: Self Portrait is a self-portrait that emerges step-by-step out of the printing process, one plate and one color at a time. The viewer follows a series of 9 individual plate proofs along with a corresponding series of 9 progressive proofs. By comparing the plate proofs against the progressive proofs, the viewer may ascertain not only the effect as one color is added to another to create the final 9-color etching, but also the compositional decisions and careful modifications made by Close at each stage of the project.

This sumptuous volume presents the first full-scale exploration of warhol''s tremendous influence across the generations of artists that have succeeded him. Warhol brought to the art world a unique awareness of the relationship that art might have with popular consumer culture and tabloid news, with celebrity, and with sexuality. Each of these themes is explored through visual dialogues between warhol and some sixty artists, among them John Baldessari, Vija Celmins, Gilbert & George, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Robert Gober, Nan Goldin, Damien Hirst, Alfredo Jaar, Deborah Kass, Alex Katz, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Glenn Ligon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Vik Muniz, Takashi Murakami, Bruce Nauman, Cady Noland, Elizabeth Peyton, Sigmar Polke, Richard Prince, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman and Luc Tuymans. These juxtapositions not only demonstrate warhol''s overt influence but also suggest how artists have either worked in parallel modes or developed his model in dynamic new directions. Featuring commentary by many of the world''s leading contemporary artists, as well as a major essay by the celebrated critic Mark Rosenthal and an extensive illustrated chronology, Regarding Warhol is an out-standing publication that will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in contemporary art.

Contains transcripts of conversations between artist Chuck Close and twenty-seven of his fellow artists who were also subjects of his paintings.