Why is the Jeremy collection so important?

The fact that Julian Opie takes an ordinary man as the subject of this print collection reflects the artist’s interest in the everyday and his desire to capture the commonplace and ordinary in his artworks. Opie’s artwork often depict the quotidian and portray the banality of the modern world, with works showing people walking through cities- as is seen in the Jeremy collection-, cars driving down roads and figures dressed in uniform going to work. Speaking about his representation of the everyday, Opie explains: “mundane things are just as exciting as all the things you might imagine escaping into”.

How do I buy a Jeremy print?

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How can I sell my Jeremy print?

If you're looking to sell art by Julian Opie click the link and we can help. We employ a number of techniques and practices in order to give a realistic and achievable valuation on any art listed on myartbroker.com. We analyse the demand for the work in question, take into consideration previous sales and auction valuations, we assess the current gallery valuation and monitor the current deals taking place via MyArtBroker every day. We regularly advise sellers on a price bracket for their artwork completely free of charge.

Jeremy by Julian Opie Background & Meaning

Produced in 2010, Jeremy is a collection of prints made by the renowned British artist Julian Opie in 2010. The prints in the collection all show a man, captured from side-on, walking across the composition. The man is rendered in Opie’s distinct visual style, characterised by his use of thick, black outlines filled with blocks of colour and simplified shapes.

The man depicted in Opie’s Jeremy collection is faceless and his head has been replaced by a circle that hovers above his shoulders. All his features and distinguishable characterised are reduced to simplified forms, yet a sense of individuality remains due to the skilful way in which Opie captures the man’s gait as he strides across the artwork.

The Jeremy collection can be seen alongside various other collections produced by Opie which feature anonymous figures walking. Opie always captures these subjects in full-length, caught as they are mid stride, with their surroundings omitted in favour of a block colour background. Although Opie extracts his subjects from their environment, removing any visual contextual information as to their surroundings, the viewer of the print can often infer where they are walking from the print’s title or the clothes they are wearing. Notable other collections made by Opie which feature figures walking include Walking In The Rain, Walking In London and Walking In Melbourne. Another collection, the Street collection, features people from a variety of different professions captured in transit walking to or from work. The Jeremy collection along with these other collections capture the variety of people one might encounter while strolling through a city.

As is seen in this collection, Opie’s artworks often appear flat and lacking in depth and the use of simplified shapes and block colours produce a one-dimensional effect. Opie’s style is influenced by Minimalism and Pop Art and traces of Roy Lichtenstein’s comic book imagery and cartoon characters, as well as Andy Warhol’s highly commercialised style of portraiture are apparent throughout Opie’s oeuvre.

The fact that Julian Opie takes an ordinary man as the subject of this print collection reflects the artist’s interest in the everyday and his desire to capture the commonplace and ordinary in his artworks. Opie’s artwork often depict the quotidian and portray the banality of the modern world, with works showing people walking through cities- as is seen in the Jeremy collection-, cars driving down roads and figures dressed in uniform going to work. Speaking about his representation of the everyday, Opie explains: “mundane things are just as exciting as all the things you might imagine escaping into”.
While Opie’s visual style is often compared to Pop artist Andy Warhol, the subjects of his prints differ markedly to Warhol. Warhol was well known for his portraits of celebrities and stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley, however Opie prefers to depict ordinary people who are not known by the viewer, as opposed to finding ‘iconic’ subjects who are instantly recognisable.
The prints in the Jeremy collection also highlight Opie’s skill in depicting movement in static artworks. Opie employs his technique of duplicating the male figure’s legs and blurring them which creates an illusion of movement and makes it seem like the figure is in motion, walking across the print. Opie’s static prints often exude a sense of movement and seem to capture a snapshot of time. Opie rarely makes artworks of static objects, preferring instead to depict dynamic scenes of people walking, dancing and getting dressed.
If you're looking to sell art by Julian Opie click the link and we can help. We employ a number of techniques and practices in order to give a realistic and achievable valuation on any art listed on myartbroker.com. We analyse the demand for the work in question, take into consideration previous sales and auction valuations, we assess the current gallery valuation and monitor the current deals taking place via MyArtBroker every day. We regularly advise sellers on a price bracket for their artwork completely free of charge.