British artist Julian Opie (b. 1958) makes art of the world he sees around him: people, landscapes and animals. He is interested in the history of art and in traditional art forms, adapting them with modern techniques to depict the things he sees and experiences. With the aid of computer graphics and LCD and LED technologies, Opie creates perplexing works that he hopes will encourage us to see our environment in a new way. His visual language is universal and reductive and often includes allusions to advertising, billboards or computer games. At the same time, the works play with our expectations of the representation of two and three-dimensional perception.
The show in Kunsthalle Helsinki features about forty works, most of them created specifically for this exhibition. Julian Opie works serially and tests his ideas boldly in exhibitions. The show in the Kunsthalle includes large fibreglass sculptures, computer animations, portraits and black-and-white paintings on acrylic.