Customer Reviews

Chuck Close: Work

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4 star:		(2)
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This book is large! And it has excellent reproductions and bio of the life of this magical man. Chuck Close has made a career,while battling disabilities that would have stopped lesser men.Christopher Finch noted art writer,assists Close in making this book autobiographical and personal,like the unpretentious Mr. Close.
The author and the artist together guide you through the evolution of Chuck Close noted modern portrait artist. You follow from air brush, to finger painting,collage disc painting, to the new color geometric masterpieces.
Chuck personally supervised color choices in the lay-out and it is truly impressive. 95 percent of his major work is here. Self portraits,friends , his wife etc. are all vividly executed. Seeing Chuck in action shows the scale of the major works!The works are huge,and the pictures show the studio environment he works in.
I was fortunate to attend his lecture,with both men ,and it Chuck says this is the definitive book!

This really does not need to be that long. I am a huge fan of Chuck Close and have been so for years now. My personal library reflects this, with four other books and catalogs spanning his career. These books get brought out on a semi-consistent basis, as they all have something important to say about this mans art.

"Chuck Close: WORK" is a definitive piece that fills in any small holes about the story of this artist that might be obscured in some out of print catalog, as well as talking heavily about his process. If you are in the market for a book that gives the full Chuck Close biography while supplementing itself with beautiful illustrations and plenty of dialog about his process, do not hesitate to purchase this book.

Christopher Finch has done a wonderful job of revealing both Chuck Close the man and the artist. This one of the best art retrospectives I have ever actually 'read' and enjoyed.

I too had a chance to hear both artist and author speak this week. While Chuck did say this is the definitive book on his work one can hope that he still has many productive years left to continue to awe and amaze his many admirers.

I enjoy this book very much and keep it open in the studio to study a painting for a while. It is remarkable to see so many paintings that come forward out of pure color shapes. It is full of well written commentary too.

Excellent reproductions and very informative text. A good resource book for artists and students. Worth the cost to have this one in your collection.

A heavy weight monograph. Literally. The scale of the publication gives your arms a workout and is exactly what is needed to get up close to the work and examine the process of Close's paintings, prints and drawings. The reproductions are large and of good quality, the large details (excerpts) allow the reader to get a sense of how the paintings read in close proximity. The writing is good reading, but does wander occasionally into peripheral anecdotes with low to no relevance to Close's practice. Interesting from a biographical perspective, not particularly so for artist readers examining the work. The book comes with a strong recommendation from someone with a bloating collection of artist monographs. I anticipate this will be a book to which I return time and again.

Probably the best book I've ever had. As a painter I like the big good quality pictures and method pictures. This is it. Buy it now!

This was a birthday gift for my husband. He already had the companion book, "Life". He had been coveting this book for awhile, then saw the Chuck Close exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery in D.C. He HAD to have it after that. Very nice paperstock.

It is befitting the work of painter Chuck Close that he has a large format coffee table collection of his mammoth sized groundbreaking portraiture output. After all, it was Close who uniquely created the wall format, head-shot paintings that have solidified his decade's long reputation as one of America's premier portrait artists.

Author and curator Christopher Finch has been following Close `closely' (sorry...) since arranging for Minnesota's Walker Art Museum to make the first museum purchase of one of Close's paintings almost four decades ago. In `Work' (re-released in conjunction with a complimentary volume, `Life,'), Finch showcases nearly all of Close's significant work alongside numerous examples of the artist's work in progress as well. From his famed `prismatic grid' paintings to large format polaroids; from portraits of ordinary people to famous faces like Philip Glass and Bill Clinton, `Work' showcases the full range of Close's work from 1969 to the present.

In addition to Close's remarkable work, Finch reveals much of the artist's personal life including the challenge of regaining his painting career in the wake of a debilitating stroke. After four decades, Close is clearly one of America's most important living artists and Finch's `Work' does both an excellent and complete job of elucidating exactly that.

This is a great book. It really shows the genius of Chuck Close.
I really got a sense of the life and work of this powerful artist. I have always
respected this man, i have even more respect for him. Very
well written. Sometimes it got a little tedious when the painting techniques were
discussed and i was trying to understand them and referring to the paintings.
A very worth while read!!
Good service from Amazon.