JULIAN OPIE, CORNISH COAST 1: POLRIDMOUTH COAST, CORNISH COAST SERIES, SIGNED DIGITAL PRINT, EDITION OF 20, 2017
Cornish Coast 1: Polridmouth Coast is a print from Julian Opie’s Cornish Coast series from 2017, that shows a seascape in Cornwall on a clear day. On the horizon are the seaside cliffs depicted in green, brown and grey, dividing the composition in half and working to add a sense of depth and colour.
Combining the vernacular of everyday life with the canonical styles and traditions of art history, this print presents a twenty-first century version of the classic art historical genre of landscape painting. Cornish Coast 1: Polridmouth Coast is indicative of Opie’s desire to utilise new computer technology and photography to create a simplified and instantly recognisable image. In using saturated block colours and a limited palette of only four or five tones, Opie produces an aesthetically pleasing image when viewed at any distance.
Explaining why he chose the Cornish coast as his subject matter, Opie has said, “Cornwall is beautiful. You see the sky and the sea and the green fields. These colours surround you and fill your eyes, creating an environment, a space to be in that echoes the colours and shapes on your retina. Anything and anywhere is visible but beauty means that you can hold it in your eyes, make a picture of it.”
Read more about the Cornish Coast series by Julian Opie.
ABOUT JULIAN OPIE
British artist Julian Opie challenges traditional approaches to portraiture through his digitally designed and seemingly contradictory, depersonalised works. Working also with landscapes and cityscapes, Opie’s highly stylised work involves the reduction of photographs or short films into figurative reproductions created using computer software. The hallmarks of his artistic style are portraits and animated walking figures, rendered with minimal detail in black line drawing. Learn more about Julian Opie.
