Pixels and painting: Chuck Close and the fragmented image.

The contemporary artist Chuck Close (1940- ) is well known for his large portraits of faces that are composites made from multiple small geometric forms. The individual elements of the images are very visible when viewed close up, but merge when seen at a distance. Close suffered from a collapsed spinal artery in the neck in 1988, which left him partially quadriplegic, but he is still able to paint vigorously.