Nat (Five Color States) 1971

Chuck Close’s "Nat (Five Color States)" presents a methodical exploration of portraiture through the lens of color and structure. Each print, part of a series, dissects the face of Nat into a grid, a format that exposes the mechanics of image construction. The use of the grid is critical, it serves both as a foundation and a system, echoing the principles of structuralism where underlying structures dictate surface appearances. Close employs color not merely decoratively, but as a means to fragment and then reconstruct the image, challenging our perception of wholeness. The grid operates almost like a semiotic framework, where each square is a signifier contributing to the signified, the overall portrait. Yet, the work resists a singular, stable reading. It destabilizes the conventional portrait, inviting ongoing interpretation. This is not just a face, it is a field of signs, each awaiting our decipherment.