Chuck Close Reveals His Painting Technique

The Akron Art Museum of Art in Ohio unveils its major fall exhibition of Chuck Close, with his works from museums across the state. Its centerpiece is Linda, a 9-foot closeup of a curly-haired woman’s face. And its subject, Linda Rosenkrantz, will host a panel discussion at the museum on what’s it’s like to be painted by Chuck Close. Close, now confined to a wheelchair, won’t travel to Ohio to see the show, but in an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, he reveals that over the years, his process—of painting the pixelations of his canvas at close range—hasn’t changed one bit. “I never back up,” he says. “If I did, I’d never get the damn things done.” His methods may stay the same, but Close explains that he is still going in new directions. “The choice not to do something is in a funny way more positive than the choice to do something,” he says. “If you impose a limit to not do something you’ve done before, it will push you to where you’ve never gone before.”