Subway Portraits

2017 86th Street (Q) New York City Transit

Chuck Close created 12 large-scale portraits for 86 St that are based on the artist’s painstakingly detailed photo-based paintings. His various painting techniques have been interpreted in 10 works as mosaic, and in two as ceramic tile. The people portrayed represent the variety of individuals that pass though the MTA system, and are chiefly cultural figures that have frequently been subjects in his artistic career spanning over half a century, including Philip Glass, Zhang Huan, Kara Walker, Alex Katz, Cecily Brown, Cindy Sherman, and Lou Reed, as well as two distinct self-portraits.