Julian Opie

£10,500-£16,000 VALUE (EST.)

$19,000-$29,000 VALUE (EST.)

$18,000-$27,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥90,000-¥140,000 VALUE (EST.)

€12,000-€18,000 VALUE (EST.)

$100,000-$160,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥1,700,000-¥2,590,000 VALUE (EST.)

$13,000-$20,000 VALUE (EST.)

-3% AAGR

This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

June 2016

Bonhams New Bond Street - United Kingdom

Suzanne Walking - Signed Print

January 2015

Sotheby's Hong Kong - Hong Kong

Suzanne Walking - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

Suzanne Walking is a signed mixed media print produced by Julian Opie, one of the leading figures of the New British Sculpture movement. Made in 2005 in an edition size of 50, this print on lenticular acrylic panel shows a female figure depicted from side-on. The figure’s head is cropped out of the composition, as well as her feet. The woman appears to be in motion due to the way Opie duplicates and blurs her legs and arms, creating an illusion of movement. The figure is rendered in black and white which contrasts with many of Opie’s other prints of people walking which are characterised by their use of bright colour.

In Suzanne Walking, the female figure is wearing nothing but her underwear. Eroticism marks many of Opie’s works and the artist has produced various pieces which depict sexualised images of women who are often undressing or nude. Opie’s most notable collection, This Is Shahnoza, features a woman pole dancing.

Opie is famous for his interest in the mundane and his desire to capture everyday life in his works. Suzanne Walking can be read as a comment on the liberated sexual mores of the 21st century as pornography and erotic adverts had become a normal part of everyday life. Speaking about his depiction of naked or eroticised figures, the artist explains: “I don’t take responsibility for what’s out there, but I use it nonetheless.”