Bijou Gets Undressed
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Julian Opie Paper Head 6 For Sale
Julian Opie
Paper Head 6, 2019
Screen prints with inkjet and collage on Canson Conservation Board , presented in a sprayed white frame specified by the artist
49 x 35 in 124.5 x 88.9 cm
About this work
Julian Opie's "Paper Heads" series is a captivating exploration of portraiture through the artist's minimalist and stylized aesthetic. Known for his innovative approach to digital imagery and graphic design, Opie distills complex human features into simple lines and shapes, creating works that are both strikingly modern and deeply rooted in the traditions of portraiture. The "Paper Heads" series exemplifies Opie's ongoing interest in the depiction of the human figure, focusing specifically on the face as a site of identity and expression. In this series, Opie utilizes paper as the primary medium, a choice that underscores the blend of fragility and permanence inherent in the act of portraiture. Each piece in the "Paper Heads" collection features a headshot of an individual, rendered with Opie's signature economy of form. The faces are simplified to their most basic elements—circles for heads, dots for eyes, and lines for mouths and the contours of the face. Despite this reduction, the portraits capture the essence of the subjects, conveying personality and emotion through minimal detail. Opie's process often involves photographing or filming his subjects, then using computer software to edit and reduce these images to their graphic essentials. This technique reflects his interest in the ways modern technology can intersect with and transform traditional artistic practices. The "Paper Heads" series, with its focus on digital simplification and the use of paper, highlights the tension between the digital and the physical, the timeless and the ephemeral. Color plays a crucial role in the "Paper Heads" series. Opie employs bold, flat colors to fill in the outlines of his figures, using contrast and saturation to add depth and vitality to the portraits. The backgrounds are typically rendered in vibrant hues, which not only highlights the subject but also contributes to the overall mood of each piece. This use of color reinforces the pop art influences in Opie's work, linking him to a broader art historical narrative while emphasizing his unique voice. The "Paper Heads" series is also notable for its engagement with the concept of anonymity and universality. While each portrait is based on a specific individual, the simplification process strips away the details that would allow for easy recognition. This paradoxically creates a sense of both intimacy and distance, inviting viewers to project their interpretations onto the works. Opie's portraits challenge us to consider what constitutes individuality and how much detail is necessary to convey a sense of personhood. Furthermore, the series reflects on the role of portraiture in contemporary society, questioning the ways in which identity is constructed and perceived in a world saturated with images. By reducing his subjects to their most basic forms, Opie engages in a dialogue with the history of portraiture, from ancient busts to modern selfies, exploring the enduring human desire to capture and represent the self. Julian Opie's "Paper Heads" series is a testament to his skill in blending traditional artistic concerns with contemporary methods and mediums. Through his innovative approach, Opie offers a fresh perspective on portraiture, challenging viewers to reconsider the essence of representation and the ways in which we see and understand each other in the modern age.
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Edition & Provenance
- Year
- 2019
- Medium
- Screen prints with inkjet and collage on Canson Conservation Board , presented in a sprayed white frame specified by the artist
- Edition
- Edition of 55
About Julian Opie
Julian Opie (b. 1958, London) is one of the most recognisable and widely exhibited British artists of his generation, a painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose stripped-back figurative language has achieved both the commercial viability of design and the conceptual seriousness of fine art — a combination that few artists of any era have managed with equal confidence. Opie studied at Goldsmiths College under Michael Craig-Martin, graduating in 1982, and was representing by a major London gallery almost immediately. He has been a significant presence in the international art world for over four decades.
Opie's visual language is built from a small number of radical formal decisions: bold black outlines, flat unmodulated colour fields, the elimination of shadow, texture, and incidental detail, and a scale and graphic authority that draws openly on Egyptian hieroglyphics, Japanese woodblock printing, public signage, and the simplified conventions of digital interfaces. The result is a style of immediate recognisability — when you encounter a Julian Opie figure, you know it instantly — that nonetheless contains real formal thought about how images communicate, how representation functions, and what remains when almost everything is removed. His Walking Figures series, in which anonymous pedestrians in continuous motion are rendered in his signature distilled vocabulary and presented as both print editions and LED wall sculptures, has become one of the most compelling ongoing investigations in contemporary art into the relationship between the ancient idea of the frieze, the vernacular language of the public sign, and the aesthetic possibilities of the LED screen.
In 2000, Opie created the cover artwork for Blur's Best Of compilation — four simplified band portraits in his trademark style — bringing his visual language to an audience of millions and cementing his profile as an artist operating meaningfully across the boundary between fine art and popular culture. His portrait series, his landscape works, and his permanent public installations — including major commissions at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London — extend the reach of his practice into civic and architectural contexts. At the major auction houses, significant Opie works have traded in the £200,000–£500,000 range at Christie's and Sotheby's, while his print editions range from thousands to tens of thousands of pounds, providing entry points across a wide spectrum of collector budgets. His work is held in the Tate Collection, among other public institutions.
His media range is notably broad: silkscreen prints, vinyl paintings, LED panels, lenticular works, and public sculptures are all produced with equal technical rigour and formal clarity.
Guy Hepner maintains strong inventory and expertise in Julian Opie's print editions and LED works. Our gallery at 177 Tenth Avenue, New York offers collectors expert guidance on acquisition and valuation. We provide free, confidential valuations for those looking to sell Opie works and active connections to buyers engaged with this market.