JULIAN OPIE, TWENTY SIX PORTRAITS, SCREEN PRINTS, LITHOGRAPHS AND LAMBDA PRINTS, EDITION OF 250, 2006
Twenty Six Portraits is a series of portraits published as an editioned book, by Julian Opie from 2006. The collection of prints shows a variety of three-quarter length portraits from the artist’s oeuvre of various models, all in differing poses, clothing and styles. The majority of portraits collated in this book are commissions.
This book of portraits reflects Opie’s unparalleled ability to portray distinct and unique personalities through a minimal use of line and clever use of poses. Creating this portrait series, Opie was convinced that anyone could be a good model stating that, ‘every person could equally well show that a simple sign for their face could bring their individual presence into the picture, that everyone could be their own classic type.’
Inspired by the woodblock prints of Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro, as well as early Renaissance painters such as Giovanni Bellini and Fra Angelico, Opie deliberately frames these poses as three-quarter length portraits to place his work in a historical, painterly context. In referencing historical, classic poses through the medium of computer drawing programmes and photography, Opie aimed to distance model and viewer, placing the model in a fictional framework. This fictional role is then recognised as a type by the viewer, allowing for a multitude of interpretations.
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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.
