JULIAN OPIE, STILL LIFE WITH RED AND GREEN APPLES, STILL LIFE SERIES, SIGNED DIGITAL PRINT, EDITION OF 40, 2001
Still Life With Red And Green Apples is a print by Julian Opie from his 2001 Still Life series that shows a number of brightly coloured apples set against a flattened, black backdrop. Arranged in a seemingly random composition, this print is a simple but striking still life scene that combines Opie’s graphic visual language with the canonical styles of art history.
Brightly coloured and shiny, the fruit and vegetables depicted by Opie in this series appear almost synthetic, without any signs of irregularity or damage. Through the artificial nature of the apples represented, Opie parallels this with his methods and style of working that defy the presence of the artist’s hand.
Still Life With Red And Green Apples is reminiscent of 17th century Dutch still life painting in its allusion to realism and starkly contrasted dark background. Indeed, Opie has been interested in engaging with the traditions of art history throughout his entire career, notably in his works A Pile of Old Masters (1983) and Eat Dirt, Art History (1983). With this print, Opie presents a twenty-first century version of the classic art historical genre through his use of computer technology, saturated colour and simplified form.
Find out more about Still Life 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.
