Ocula Conversation Hito Steyerl: How To Build a Sustainable Art World 'A Picture of War is Not War', we read in Hito Steyerl's iconic film November (2004), an essayistic Super 8 film tackling the definition of terrorism constructed around the figure of the artist's best friend Andrea Wolf, who was killed as a terrorist in 1998 in Eastern Anatolia after she joined the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). Mixing documentary...
Ocula Report Aichi to Okayama: Art in Japan Looks to the Future 11 Oct 2019 : Stephanie Bailey for Ocula There has been a flurry of triennial and biennial art activity in Japan this year. The Aichi Triennale opened in Nagoya this August, sparking a national debate about the shutting down of a display of formerly censored works—the result of public backlash against a burnt image of Emperor Hirohito and a statue commemorating the women forced into...
Ocula Insight | Video Hans Hartung and Art Informel at Mazzoleni London (1 October 2019-18 January 2020) presents key works by the French-German painter while highlighting his connection with artists active in Paris during the 50s and 60s. In this video, writer and historian Alan Montgomery discusses Hartung's practice and its legacy.Born in Leipzig in 1904, Hans...
Julian Opie is an internationally renowned artist of the New British Sculpture movement. Born in 1958 in London, Opie studied at Goldsmith’s School of Art under conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin. Julian Opie continues to live and work in London.
Opie works in a variety of media including sculpture, painted aluminium, vinyl, and inkjet on canvas. His thick black outlines and simplified blocks of colour are reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints, Pop Art, and minimalism. Opie’s painted metal sculptures gained international recognition due to their highly stylized nature and their utilisation of basic line and negative space. His work is characterised by his ability to create simplified figures that remain uniquely recognisable.
Opie has undertaken many public commissions including works at the City Hall Park, New York (2004), the Mori Building, Omotesando Hill, Japan (2006), River Vitava, Prague (2007), Dublin City Gallery, Ireland (2008), Seoul Square, South Korea (2009), Regent’s Place, London (2011), and Calgary, Canada (2012).
Opie designed the album cover for Best of Blur by British band Blur in 2000 for which he was presented with a Music Week CADS Award the following year. He was earlier awarded the Sargent Fellowship at the British School in Rome in 1995. Opie’s work is held in collections at the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Tate, London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Ocula Conversation Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Founder, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo started collecting contemporary art in 1992, after graduating from Torino University, where she studied business and economics. She began her collection with four works from the late-1950s and early-1960s by Italian artists: Carla Accardi, Tano Festa, Mario Merz and Salvatore Scarpitta. 'I enjoyed the idea of...
Ocula Report Top 5 booths at Art Busan 2016 31 May 2016 : Angela Suh for Ocula Located a stones throw from the famed Haeundae Beach, popularised in Korean cinema and countless K-dramas, Art Busan 2016 conveyed a leisurely air brought on by the first warm days of spring. Now in its fifth edition, the fair has grown into a sizeable event showcasing some of the best works in the region. With over 190 participating galleries...
Related Press Heads Roll review – an exhibition for narcissists everywhere The Guardian : 13 August 2018 Portraiture is an enduring art form, thanks to the narcissistic tendencies of the human race.
Related Press Julian Opie: 'It's only when you are bored that you can see' The Guardian : 25 April 2018 I sent two of my assistants out to the park to film people walking and, on reviewing the films, I found that many joggers had run past the camera.Humans are built for running. I have read they can outrun a wolf or a horse over long distances. By drawing one stride with around 30 frames I can set a drawing in motion to run smoothly forever as an...
Related Press Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor and Marina Abramović lead major new exhibition Everything At Once at Store Studios The Vinyl Factory : 8 September 2017 This October, Store Studios will host Everything At Once, an extensive off-site exhibition featuring 24 artists currently shown at Lisson Gallery in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Related Press Amnesty for Art Post-ism : 21 February 2017 As far as you look back in history, the arts have always interacted with the power structures of their time. Artists, writers, poets, filmmakers and musicians have been indispensible critical voices, reacting to cultural and political discourse, connecting with social movements. They can be a powerful voice of dissent and transgression to political...
Related Video & Audio Julian Opie: This is Shahnoza in 3 Parts Alan Cristea Gallery : 10 October 2008 A short film exploring a series of nine, life-size works by Julian Opie. This is Shahnoza in 3 Parts features linear images of a pole dancer called Shahnoza in nine different poses.
