London born Julian Opie is a renowned visual artist who developed under the tutelage of conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin at Goldsmiths, University of London. He burst on to the British art scene during the 1980s with a series of painted metal sculptures and is known as one of the most significant artists of his generation. Opie’s work is characteristically striking, combining the minimalism of Pop Art with digital alteration. He uses computer technology to create graphic portraits from photographs, employing simple colours and minimal detail to create a piece that is both abstract but still recognisable. He employs a similar approach to the depiction of books, buildings and landscapes, using a range of media including painted metal, vinyl, LED lights and inkjet on canvas. Because his work has such a contemporary feel, it lends itself to popular culture.
Julian Opie best-known piece is an album cover produced for the Britpop group Blur, which depicts portraits of the band members in his familiar digitally enhanced Pop Art style. Opie has also worked with animation, producing a series of films about Japanese landscapes that draws inspiration from the graphic style of Japanese artists such as Kitagawa Utamaro. His work is hung at world famous galleries such as the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Tate Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
