Ponti Art Gallery is interested in buying and selling works
of art by this artist.
Julian Opie Biography
Julian Opie is a contemporary British artist, born in London in 1958. He is renowned for his distinctive style of portraiture and animated walking figures, which are characterized by minimal detail and rendered in bold black line drawings. Opie's work is a blend of pop art and minimalism, yet it possesses a contemporary sensibility that is uniquely his own. He has said, "The process of reading things as simulations but knowing at the same time that they are real is quite central to my work," highlighting the conceptual depth behind his seemingly straightforward visual language.
Opie's education played a significant role in shaping his artistic direction. He attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he was taught by conceptual artist and painter Michael Craig-Martin. Graduating in 1982, Opie quickly became recognized as part of the New British Sculpture movement, a group of artists who were redefining sculpture in the UK during the 1980s. His early works were narrative sculptures based on famous works of art, everyday objects, and architectural structures, made from cut and painted steel. These pieces were irreverent and tongue-in-cheek, displaying a keen sense of humor and a critical engagement with art history.
Over the years, Opie's work has evolved significantly. He has expanded his practice to include painting, installation, and digital art, exploring urban and rural landscapes as well as moving figures to bring time-honored artistic genres into the twenty-first century. His works have been realized in a variety of media including silkscreen, vinyl, LCD, LED, lenticular, and flocking. Opie draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, including billboard advertising, classical portraiture and sculpture, Japanese Manga, seventeenth and eighteenth-century portraiture, nineteenth-century silhouettes, Roman busts, and ancient Egyptian art.
Opie's graphic portraiture style and use of computer-aided design have enabled him to move seamlessly between the fields of contemporary art and commercial design. Notably, in 2000, he was commissioned to design the album cover for British pop band Blur, and in 2006, he created an LED projection for U2's Vertigo world tour. His work has been exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, and can be found in many public collections worldwide, including The Tate Gallery, London; The Arts Council of Great Britain; The National Museum of Art, Osaka; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
One of Opie's most famous artworks is the animated public sculpture, "Shaida Walking" (2015), installed on London's Carnaby Street. This piece exemplifies Opie's interest in depicting everyday urban scenes and people, elevating them from the mundane through a bold use of form and color. By often sculpting such subjects in a free-standing form, Opie makes viewers reconsider their own relationship to space, movement, and representation.
Opie's work is not only visually striking but also intellectually engaging. He experiments with the idea of translation from the photographed figure into a language he has developed based on signs and symbols, shadows, and outlines. This process involves a significant amount of post-production, where the final artworks, whether they are vinyls, mosaics, or LED displays, originate from various global locations, reflecting the interconnectedness of modern life and art production.
Julian Opie's contribution to contemporary art is significant. His unique visual language, characterized by its simplicity and immediacy, invites viewers to engage with the art in a direct and uninhibited manner. Through his exploration of form, color, and movement, Opie continues to challenge and expand the boundaries of traditional artistic practice, making him one of the most influential and recognizable artists of his generation.
Julian Opie Quotes and Sales
of Works
Ponti Art Gallery selects and deals with paintings by the
artist. Upon request, we provide free estimates and
evaluations, communicate prices, quotations, and current
market values.
If you are interested in BUYING or SELLING works by the
artist, contact us immediately.
If you wish to sell or receive an evaluation of the
works:
Send us a frontal photo of the painting, one of the back,
and one of the signature. Also, indicate the dimensions of
the work. Inform us about the purchase origin of the work
and any kind of available documentation (purchase
receipts, certificates of authenticity, publications). One
of our operators will respond to you on the same day. We
guarantee maximum confidentiality and extreme
professionalism.
If you wish to purchase works by the painter: Contact us
and let us know your request. We will inform you about the
available works. We also offer the possibility to
subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, through which you will be
informed at the beginning of each month about the latest
acquisitions of the art gallery.
You can send us pictures of the work: