JULIAN OPIE, FELICIA, SIGNED DIGITAL PRINT, EDITION OF 40, 2011
Felicia is a print from 2011 by Julian Opie that shows a three-quarter length portrait of an elegantly dressed woman. Depicted in bright colours and thick dark outlines, Opie reworks his trademark style of a simplified figure and floating circular head by adding details such as long hair and opulent clothing.
The sitter is seen facing to her right and looking out to the viewer, placing a sparkling bracelet over her wrist. Felicia exudes opulence through Opie’s use of rich colour, drapery and the hints of sparkle in the sitter’s jewellery and dress. This print is exemplary of the way in which Opie distinguishes between the figures that populate his world through clever use of clothing, colour and hair.
Opie’s portrait is largely anonymised aside from the print’s title and distinguishing details of clothing and hair. This is indicative of the way in which Opie represents his figure’s as predetermined ‘types’, Felicia fulfilling the stereotype of a beautiful, rich woman. Of this Opie has said, "I think the whole notion we carry of people as examples of types is very interesting… There are some key famous people who become these types and I want to extend that really so that everybody is a type if you draw them in the way that I do."
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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.
