Julian Opie is a contemporary British artist known for his distinctive depictions of figures, portraits, and landscapes. The highly stylized treatment Opie gives his subjects—whereby features are created by thick black outlines and filled in with solid areas of flat color—is a blend of Pop Art and Minimalism with a wholly contemporary sensibility. “The process of reading things as simulations but knowing at the same time that they are real is quite central to my work,” Opie has observed of his own art. Born in 1958 in London, United Kingdom, Opie studied with Michael-Craig Martin at Goldsmiths in London during the early 1980s. His earliest works consisted of painted steel sculptures exploring the relationship between visual and spatial observation. Over time, the artist has expanded his practice to include painting, installation, and cover art for albums. The artist’s works are part of the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and others. Opie currently lives and works in his hometown of London, United Kingdom.
Continuous computer animation on 15″ LCD screen26 x 33.5 cmEdition of 20 + 5 Artist Proofs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCatpiK03YI$ 13,500
Crows
On my walk to work I pass through a small park, and there are always a bunch of rowdy, jet black crows hanging around. I know they see me but they are aloof and seldom fly off. I spent a morning filming them and identified a number of specific movements. The movement seems to be as crow-like as the drawing itself.
I don’t invent or imagine things, just notice and record them. The choices about scale, style, language, materials and reference are my tools. I choose normal things because I must know them intimately and feel they are common currency so they can be turned into symbols. I don’t draw parrots or flamingoes, I like the boring as it’s only when you are bored that you can see.
Video
https://www.julianopie.com/multiples/2018/crow-pecking
https://www.julianopie.com/multiples/2018/crow-walking
Public Commission Crows in the Park