Julian Opie’s artwork is similar to pop art. Portraits and animated walking figures, rendered with minimal detail in black line drawing, are hallmarks of the artist's style.[5] His themes have been described as "engagement with art history, use of new technology, obsession with the human body" and "work with one idea across different media".[6] Similarly, the national art critic of The Australian, Christopher Allen, laments Opie's "limited repertoire of tricks" and described his work as "slight and ultimately commercial, if not actually kitsch".[7] When asked to describe his approach, Opie said "I often feel that trying to make something realistic is the one criterion I can feel fairly sure of. Another one I sometimes use is, would I like to have it in my room? And I occasionally use the idea, if God allowed you to show Him one [portrait] to judge you by, would this really be it?"[8]
One of Opie's most notable commissions was the design of an album cover for British pop band Blur in 2000, for which he received a Music Week CADS award. In 2006, he created an LED projection for U2's Vertigo world tour, and in 2008 Opie created a set design for Wayne McGregor's ballet Infra for the Royal Opera House in London.[11] In 2010, he was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, London, to create a portrait of the inventor and engineer Sir James Dyson, titled James, Inventor.[12] In 2019, for his former school Magdalen College School, Oxford, he created a digital screen showing two children in school uniform running.[13]
Six of Opie's portraits are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London: four portraits of the band members of Blur executed in colour print on paper, one of inventor and engineer Sir James Dyson rendered by inkjet on canvas, and a self-portrait, Julian with t-shirt, executed on an LCD screen with computer software.[12] More than two dozen of Opie's portraits, landscapes, and other works are in the collection of the Tate[14] and six works are in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.[15] Other collections include Victoria and Albert Museum, Arts Council and the British Council in London; ICA Boston; Essl Collection in Vienna; IVAM in Spain; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and Takamatsu City Museum of Art in Japan.
