The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

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October 29, 1989, to February 25, 1990 |

Chuck Close: Works on Paper from the Collection of Sherry Hope Mallin

Though Chuck Close is equated with gigantic polaroid portraits and commanding techniques, he can always wield his familiar imagery into freshened intensity. Whether in the lush colors and loose surfaces of his newest paintings, or the experimental finger-pressed application on handmade papers, the scale and willful stance of his huge heads carries a tremendous impact.

The black and white and monochrome works on paper in this exhibition have been culled from over a decade of experiments in spit bite aquatint, woodblock, lithography, and thumb printing on handmade papers. The self-portraits and portrayals of friends are, each in their fervid gaze or stare, a powerful confrontation of character. Such bare-bones, truth-haunted characterization could only be expressed by an artist who has strong feelings for his subject.

Organized by Martha B. Scott