Watching Suzanne (front) 2
Watching Suzanne (front) 2
Signed Mixed Media
Julian Opie
£2,300-£3,400Value Indicator
$4,800-$7,000 Value Indicator
$4,250-$6,500 Value Indicator
¥22,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator
€2,700-€3,950 Value Indicator
$24,000-$35,000 Value Indicator
¥430,000-¥640,000 Value Indicator
$3,100-$4,550 Value Indicator
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83 x 56cm, Edition of 25, Mixed Media
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
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Meaning & Analysis
Rendered in the artist’s universally recognisable style, Watching Suzanne (front) 2 is a print from Julian Opie’s Watching Suzanne series. The print features a dramatically cropped image of a woman’s torso and thighs as viewed from the front, wearing only her underwear. The image is depicted exclusively in black and white and very thick lines.
Opie’s interest in the human body explores the tension between general and specific reality, transforming individual subjects into universal signs so as to interrogate the genre of life drawing itself. Speaking of his desire to go beyond the traditional boundaries of art and art history Opie has said, “Our attitude towards art history, towards schools, styles and ‘isms’, was quite aggressive. We wanted to manipulate them, to use whatever style we wished.”
Watching Suzanne (front) 2 is representative of Opie’s interest in the human form that he extends into the realm of moving images and animations. When considered side by side, the 20 images from this series create an animation made up of individual still images. Opie shows the figure moving her hips from side to side then turning to face away from the viewer. The intense cropping of each image alludes to this notion of a snapshot in time, as opposed to providing the viewer with an entire storyline.
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.
