Ruth smoking. 1

Julian Opie

Julian Opie’s simple, graphic figurative portraits and landscapes generate a pared-back perspective on contemporary life. The artist’s distinctive, thickly outlined silhouettes take inspiration from classical portraiture, Japanese woodblock prints, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and traffic signs. Opie studied at Goldsmiths’ College and has exhibited in London, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Seoul, and many other cities. His work belongs in the collections of England’s Arts Council, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Museum of Modern Art, the Stedelijk Museum, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, and many others. His pieces have fetched six-figure prices on the secondary market. Opie’s practice spans painting, drawing, sculpture, and film.