You are driving a Volvo by Julian Opie
Imagine You Are Driving. 1. by Julian Opie
Imagine You Can Order These (1) by Julian Opie

Julian Opie

1958–present · British

Opie reduces faces to a handful of lines. His portraits strip away everything except the minimum needed to convey identity: a simplified outline, flat colour, no shading, no detail. The approach borrows from road signs, fire-exit pictograms, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese woodblock prints. He has cited fire-exit signage as an example of the reductive visual language he pursues.

Key facts

Born
1958, British
Movement
Works held in
2 museums[1]

Biography

He was born in London in 1958 and studied at Goldsmiths School of Art from 1979 to 1982, tutored by Michael Craig-Martin, who also taught Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. In 2000, he designed the cover for Blur's Best of Blur, creating digital drawings of each band member reduced to a handful of essential lines. The image won Music Week's Best Illustration award and made him widely known outside the gallery world.

He works across silkscreen, vinyl, LCD screens, LED displays, lenticular prints, and flocking. His LED figures, built from grids of dots, recall Lichtenstein's Ben Day dots. His walking-figure animations run as continuous loops on LCD screens. The vinyl works and LED pieces are among the most commercially recognisable contemporary art objects in circulation.

Timeline

  1. 1958Born in London, England. Spent part of his childhood in Oxford before returning to London for his education.
  2. 1982Graduated from Goldsmiths College in London at the age of 24. His early painted steel sculptures attracted immediate gallery interest.
  3. 1997Began developing his signature flat-colour, black-outline portrait style at the age of 39, reducing human figures to their most essential forms using computer software.
  4. 2001Designed the cover artwork for Blur's "Best Of" album at the age of 43, bringing his stripped-back portrait style to a mass audience across the UK.
  5. 2006Installed a series of LED walking figures on the facade of the City of London Information Centre at the age of 48. The animated public sculptures became a fixture of the city's streetscape.
  6. 2008Exhibited "Winter" at the Lisson Gallery in London at the age of 50, a major solo show combining landscape lenticular panels with his walking figure animations.
  7. 2017Presented a large-scale solo exhibition at the Fosun Foundation in Shanghai at the age of 59, marking the growing international reach of his work across Asia.

Notable Works

Tap to view larger.

Where to See Julian Opie

2 museums worldwide.

Plan your visit →

  • British Council

    London, United Kingdom

    2 works
    Museum details

  • National Galleries Scotland

    Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    1 works
    Museum detailsMap

Related Artists

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst

1965–present · British

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

1928–1987 · American

Keith Haring

Keith Haring

1958–1990 · American

Jack Vettriano

Jack Vettriano

1951–2025 · British

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy

1956–present · British

Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin

1963–present · British

Plan your visit to see Julian Opie →

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How did julian opie create his art?
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  • Is julian opie colour blind?
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  • Is julian opie still alive?
    Yes, Julian Opie is still alive (born 1958).
  • Julian opie art movement?
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  • What is julian opie most famous for?
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  • What is julian opie's most famous artwork?
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  • When did julian opie create his artwork?
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  • When did julian opie start art?
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  • Where did julian opie study?
    Julian Opie studied at Goldsmiths School of Art from 1979 to 1982.
  • Who was julian opie influenced by?
    The biography mentions that Opie borrows from road signs, fire-exit pictograms, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese woodblock prints.
  • Why is julian opie famous?
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  • Is julian opie married?
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Sources

Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Julian Opie.

  1. [1] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum British Council Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] book guggenheim-rroseisr00bles Used for: biography.
  4. [4] book Alastair Sooke, Pop Art Used for: biography.
  5. [5] book Sooke, Alistair, Pop Art Una storia a colori Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

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