Although he continues to experiment with media and still produces sculptures and public works, he is most famous for his rural and urban landscapes, portraits and animated walking figures. These are rendered with minimal detail using a thick black outline filled in with solid areas of bold colour. They are highly distinctive and have been described as a blend of minimalism and pop art akin to the work of Patrick Caulfield. Some commentators have labelled him the “Heir To The Pop Art Throne”. His reductive style obviously has its roots in the work of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, but he has also cited classical portraiture, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Japanese woodblock prints, as well as public signage, information boards and traffic signs as influences. In his portrait work he reduces the features that distinguish individuals from others to the bare minimum. It would appear easy to copy but is extremely difficult with just a few lines to be able to characterise what makes us unique and recognisable.
One of his most famous commissions was the design of an album cover for Blur in 2000. The sleeve has portraits all four band members, and the originals are in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Another striking series of portraits are of racing drivers such as Jacques Villeneuve with their helmets covering most of their faces. They are next to an image of a racing track as it would be seen through the windscreen.
Opie says: “The road is temptingly there. It was inspired by computer-game landscapes. I’m creating the illusion of movement.”Opie has also created an LED projection for U2’s Vertigo world tour, and a set design for a ballet performance for the Royal Opera House in London. In 2010, the National Portrait Gallery commissioned him to produce a portrait of the inventor and engineer Sir James Dyson. More than two dozen of Opie’s portraits, landscapes, and other works are in the collection of the Tate and his work can also be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Buy his artwork from mainstream galleries here.
