Name: Luc And Ludivine Get Married. (pair 12)
Brand: Julian Opie
Rating: 4.9 (226 reviews)

Meaning & Analysis

Luc And Ludivine Get Married (pair 12) is a work by Julian Opie from his 2007 Luc And Ludivine Get Married series that shows two individual portraits of a man and woman. Presented in elliptical frames and blown domed glazing, the man faces away from the viewer, showing only the back of his head and the woman is depicted in profile, facing to the right.

This series indicative of the way in which Opie liked to investigate both visual and verbal labels in his work, creating an extremely simplified visual language that appears like a series of signs. Luc And Ludivine Get Married, along with many other portrait prints in the artist’s oeuvre, is titled with the sitters’ names and their relationship, emphasising the way that Opie sought to use as little information as possible to create a distinctly recognisable portrait. Opie’s portraits like this reveal the dehumanising effects of extreme digital simplification due to the sitters’ blank expressions.

The works in Opie’s Luc And Ludivine Get Married series show each figure in one of four poses, rendering them in different combinations of the poses thus making each composition unique across the series. This series is indicative of Opie’s desire to work with one idea across a number of different compositions, producing many versions of the same subject.

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.