Chuck Close is well known for his monumental portraits rendered with exquisite, exacting realism from photographic sources. He's become famous for his rigorous, gridded application of individual color squares, creating highly realistic images from afar. This piece is called "Untitled Torso Diptych," an uncharacteristic medium for Close. Taken in 2012, this is a Woodburytype, one out of an edition of ten. Close captures the stunning image of a nude body, rendered in a distressed, desaturated composition. Though not his normal style, Close demonstrates his love of beauty and skilled hand with this piece.   

One of our favorite booths from the entire weekend of fairs in NYC was the Pace Prints booth at The Armory Show's Modern Fair. Pace featured works from Keith Haring, Wangechi Mutu, Shepard Fairey, Erik Parker, Ryan McGinness, Yoshitomo Nara, Hockney, and Chuck Close.

We attended the opening of photorealist painter and photographer Chuck Close’s solo exhibition at Blum & Poe in Los Angeles this past Saturday. The exhibition is on display through December 22, 2011. Photos and more after the jump…