Year: 2017
Medium: Aluminum, nylon and lights
Dimensions: 120 x 91.6 x 9 cm ( 47 1/4 × 36 × 3 1/2 in.)
Acquired from MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY, 2022
Probably the pictures coming to one’s mind thinking of Opie are his portraits capturing facial expressions by simple lines and eyes drawn as dots or walking silhouettes. In fact, he also has several works of deformed landscapes or in which facial expressions are not shown. As Opie is described as the artist of simplification, he expresses his target models and scenes using thoroughly simplified lines and dots. However, as it is clear from the titles including names of specific people or cities, his works are honest interpretations of things that really exist, and do not play tricks of any kind at all. The model of this work is a woman facing backward. Her silent appearance drawn from her shoulder to her head gives viewers the opportunity to imagine various personalities. Opie is well known for observing the model extremely to details, especially when creating a work with a person as a motif. He takes countless photographs that are then verified in the graphics. As a result, only lines and slight coloring remains, and that is exactly what expresses something about the person so strongly.
