Julian Opie, one of Britain's leading artists, will be holding his first major solo exhibition at a Japanese art museum in 11 years at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery from July 10th to September 23rd.

Julian Opie. Telephone. 2018. Patinated bronze with stone base. Large
Julian Opie is known for his style of expressing vivid figures and landscapes using a minimal visual language of dots and lines. He rose to prominence in the European art scene in the 1980s, and his works are held in major museums around the world, making him one of the most important artists in the discussion of contemporary art.

The materials used in his works include not only traditional painting and sculpture materials, but also industrial products we see every day, such as LED displays and signs, captivating people with their innovative visual expressions created from mundane materials. Opie's two-dimensional works, which also sync with graphic design and pictograms, are filled with a hybrid appeal that goes beyond the boundaries of painting. Opie is also known as a collector of Japanese ukiyo-e and anime cels, and these influences can be seen in his distinctive style, which emphasizes contours.

Julian Opie. Towers. 1. 2018. Auto paint on aluminum. Large
This large-scale solo exhibition, his first at a Japanese museum in 11 years, will introduce Julian Opie's current work, featuring paintings, sculptures, and videos selected by the artist himself, with a focus on new works being shown for the first time.

When you think of Julian Opie, you might think of his portraits from the late 1990s to mid-2000s, which are extremely simple, with clearly defined outlines and eyes represented by black dots, yet still accurately convey the individuality and personality of the model. In recent years, however, Opie has produced a wide range of works, including paintings and videos of people passing by on city streets, three-dimensional sculptures of city buildings and crows, rural landscapes and sheep sculptures, and joggers.

Furthermore, in his recent works, instead of his previous portraits depicting only the face, he has increasingly depicted the entire person from profile. While his expression remains unchanged, using clear contours and clear, plain colors, his faces are simply drawn as round, and he has developed a strong tendency toward simplification and abridgement. Similarly, the titles have been simplified: a tattooed man is "Tattoo," a woman walking with headphones is "Headphone," and a woman walking with a cell phone is "Phone." By thoroughly abstracting both the expression and the title, he is able to express universal people that can be found in any city around the world.

Julian Opie. Running 1. 2018
In Running 1 and Running 2, where movement is expressed using LEDs, the expression is further simplified. The people busily running across the screen appear somewhat comical, but perhaps this is a reflection of our own lives in today's hectic society. The music that can be heard like background music in the venue is also part of Opie's work. The venue is boldly divided into two-dimensional and three-dimensional works, allowing visitors to fully enjoy the world of Julian Opie's latest works.