Julian Opie Research

Julian Opie is a contemporary English sculptor, painter, printmaker and installation artist. He was born in 1958 in London and raised in Oxford. He studied at Goldsmiths College (1979-1982) under Michael Craig-Martin, who he briefly work as an assistant for. His style was brought into the public eye when he was asked to design the cover for the British band Blur's best of album.

In his portraiture, the human face is characterised by black outlines with flat areas of colour, and minimalised details, to the extent that an eye can become just the black circle of the pupil, and sometimes a head is represented by a circle with a space where the neck would be. In this way, Julian Opie tries to present the complexities of the human form by reducing it to its mere basics.

His work is held in most major museum collections, including The Tate Gallery, London, and MoMA, New York, and he has completed major public commisions in cities all over the world.

Information from artrepublic.com and tate.org.uk

Blur: The Best Of album cover