Julian Opie b. 1958

Julian Opie is a British artist part of the New British Artist movement. He attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he studied under conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin and made his Eat Dirt and Art History series. After he graduated in 1983, he became famous for his figurative sculptures and wall pieces that use lentuculars to show movement from different angles. Opie draws inspiration from the human body and uses the theme across a variety of media. He keeps true the human figure and the realist approach with his moving images.

Opie is also known for his commissions, particularly his public installations around the world using LED projections and digital technology. Such works include Promenade (2010) in Calgary and a series of glass panels commissioned by St. Mary's Hospital, London. He often moves between the fields of contemporary art and commercial design, using computer software to complete much of his work. He was also commissioned to design an album cover for British band Blur in 2000 and create an LED projection for U2's tour in 2006.

Opie has shown his work in solo exhibitions locally and internationally, including in Mumbai (2012), Milan (2011), Valencia (2010), Vienna (2008), New York (2004) and Munich (1999). His work has been included in group shows in London (2011 and 2012),

 Germany (2011-2012) and the Shanghai Expo in China (2010). In 1995, he was awarded the Sargent Fellowship at the British School in Rome. His work is featured in the permanent collections of the Tate in London, the National Portrait Gallery in London and the MoMA in New York.

Related Categories: Animation, CalArts, Contemporary Pop, Prints, Cloisonnism, United Kingdom and Ireland, Hard-Edged, Contemporary Graphic Realism, Movement, Work on Paper, Sculpture, Computer Art, Outdoor Art, Figurative Painting, New British Sculpture, Painting, Sparse, Line, Form and Color, Film/Video, Photographic Source, Popular Culture, Design, Found Objects, Landscape.