Name: Imagine You Are Driving (Fast) /Olivier/Helmet
Brand: Julian Opie
Rating: 5 (233 reviews)

Track auction value trend

Julian Opie's Imagine You Are Driving (Fast) /Olivier/Helmet (signed) is a digital print from 2002, estimated to be valued between £2,750 and £4,100. This artwork has shown consistent sales activity, with a total of 3 sales since its entry to the market on 13th October 2021. The hammer price over the last 12 months has ranged from £3,518 in October 2021 to £3,740 in January 2023. The average annual growth rate of this piece is -11%. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 40.

Auction Date

Auction House

Location

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

August 2023

Bonhams Online

United Kingdom

January 2023

Wright

United States

October 2021

Wright

United States

October 2021

Wright

United States

Meaning & Analysis

Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Olivier is a print from Julian Opie’s Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Olivier series from 2002 that shows a portrait of the famous Formula 1 driver Olivier Panis. Alongside the portrait is a dramatically flat image of a racetrack, presumably from the perspective of the driver, Panis. The portrait of Panis is rendered in Opie’s trademark linear style, reducing the sitter to his most fundamental features and is set against a flattened brown backdrop.

The racetrack image on the left of the print takes up around two thirds of the composition, and shows a vast expanse of dark, flat tarmac. Opie’s use of vanishing point and low-view perspective works to create a dramatic composition, heightened by the fact that the scene is devoid of human presence.

Imagine You Are Driving (Fast)/Olivier is exemplary of the way in which Opie combines realism and abstraction to form his unique and highly recognisable style. Notably, the reflections on the sitter’s helmet and the small details along the side of the racetrack underline the sense of realism in the print. However, Opie’s use of saturated block colour and dark, thick outlines work to pare-back the images to the point of depersonalisation and abstraction.

Julian Opie, born in 1958, dances through the contemporary art scene with a distinctive digital allure. A trailblazer of the 1980s New British Sculpture movement, Opie's work is a highly stylised blend of Pop Art and minimalism which navigates the intersection of technology and visual expression. From his early experiments with computer-generated art to his iconic portraits and animated installations, Opie's work exudes a captivating simplicity. His signature style, marked by bold lines and reduced forms, is internationally recognisable and has made him a key player in British contemporary art.