Julian Opie (; born 1958) is a visual artist of the
New British Sculpture movement.
Life and education
Opie was born in London in 1958 and raised in the city of Oxford. He attended
The Dragon School and then
Magdalen College School, Oxford, from 1972 to 1977. He graduated in 1982 from
Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...
, where he was taught by
conceptual art
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
ist and painter
Michael Craig-Martin
Sir Michael Craig-Martin (born 28 August 1941) is an Irish-born contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He is known for fostering and adopting the Young British Artists, many of whom he taught, and for his conceptual artwork, '' An Oak Tre ...
.
Work
Julian Opie’s artwork is similar to pop-art. Portraits and animated walking figures, rendered with minimal detail in black line drawing, are hallmarks of the artist's style. His themes have been described as "engagement with art history, use of new technology, obsession with the human body" and "work with one idea across different media". Similarly, the national art critic of ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'',
Christopher Allen, laments Opie's "limited repertoire of tricks" and described his work as "slight and ultimately commercial, if not actually kitsch".
When asked to describe his approach, Opie said "I often feel that trying to make something realistic is the one criterion I can feel fairly sure of. Another one I sometimes use is, would I like to have it in my room? And I occasionally use the idea, if God allowed you to show Him one
ortraitto judge you by, would this really be it?"
In 2007, the four-sided LED sculpture ''
Ann Dancing'' was installed in
Indianapolis, United States, as the first artwork on the
Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
Opie has also created a monument to singer
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
.
Public projects
Commissions
One of Opie's most notable commissions was the design of an album cover for British pop band
Blur in 2000, for which he received a Music Week CADS award. In 2006, he created an LED projection for
U2's Vertigo world tour, and in 2008 Opie created a set design for
Wayne McGregor's ballet ''Infra'' for the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
in London. In 2010, he was commissioned by the
National Portrait Gallery, London, to create a portrait of the inventor and engineer
Sir James Dyson, titled ''James, Inventor''.
In 2019, for his former school Magdalen College School, Oxford, he created a digital screen showing two children in school uniform running.
Exhibitions
Opie has exhibited nationally and internationally at major institutions and galleries. Solo exhibitions have included the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
(2018/19),
the Sakshi Gallery in Mumbai (2012), the Lisson Gallery in Milan (2011); Institut Valencià d' Art Modern in Valencia (2010),
Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna (2008),
City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost was an officer in the Dutch West India Compan ...
(Public Art Fund) in New York (2004), and the
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich (1999). His work was included in group shows at City Public Art Space in London (2012); Kunstmuseum in Wolfsburg, Germany (2011–2012), the
Barbican in London (2011), and the Shanghai Expo in China (2010).
[Julian Opie, July 11 – Aug 25, 2012](_blank)
lissongallery.com
Public collections
Six of Opie's portraits are in the collection of the
National Portrait Gallery, London: four portraits of the band members of Blur executed in colour print on paper, one of inventor and engineer Sir James Dyson rendered by inkjet on canvas, and a self-portrait, ''Julian with t-shirt'', executed on an LCD screen with computer software.
More than two dozen of Opie's portraits, landscapes, and other works are in the collection of the
Tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
and six works are in the collection of the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York.
Other collections include
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, Arts Council and the British Council in London;
ICA Boston; Essl Collection in Vienna; IVAM in Spain; the
Israel Museum in Jerusalem and Takamatsu City Museum of Art in Japan.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Julian Opieon
ArtCyclopedia
Artcyclopedia is an online database of museum-quality fine art founded by Canadian John Malyon.
Information
The Artcyclopedia only deals with art that can be viewed online, and indexes 2,300 art sites (from museums and galleries), with links to a ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opie, Julian
1958 births
Living people
Sculptors from London
Painters from London
People educated at The Dragon School
People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford
Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
English contemporary artists
English male sculptors