Phil (Philip Glass), 2002
Set of 3 relief prints with embossment on custom handmade white, grey, and black paper, 67 x 56 cm (26¼ x 22 in) each. Edition of 40, each signed and numbered.
Chuck Close's edition Phil is a portrait of composer and close friend Philip Glass. The starting point was a photograph that the artist overlaid with a grid and then transferred onto the canvas square by square, enlarging it in the process. By using the airbrush technique, Chuck Close achieves a nearly photographic finish. The extreme close-up emphasizes every detail of the face, giving the work a cool, analytical distance that makes it appear more as a visual study than a classic portrait.
