(Left) Julian Opie, Faime, 2016, Automotive paint on aluminum, 62 3/16 in. x 8 11/16 in. x 10 5/8 in. (158 cm x 22.1 cm x 27 cm) Museum purchase, The Dorothy Johnston Towne (Class of 1923) Fund 2017.42

(Right) Julian Opie, Zhiyun, 2016, Automotive paint on aluminum, 62 3/16 in. x 8 11/16 in. x 9 5/16 in. (158 cm x 22.1 cm x 23.7 cm) Museum purchase, The Dorothy Johnston Towne (Class of 1923) Fund 2017.43

The first works by Julian Opie to enter the Davis, the sculptures Faime and Zhiyun are side profile busts of a man and a woman. Typical of Opie’s style, the figures are reduced to the most basic forms of shape, line, and color.  Here, Opie adapts the ancient form of the portrait bust to reflect contemporary practice through materials and graphic simplification. While portrayed impersonally with generic graphic features, the titles of the busts suggest they are portraits. Opie creates his portraits from photographs of both friends and strangers who pass by on the street. In 2016 Faime was featured in twelve artworks, from sculpture and painting to animation, and Zhiyun was the subject of three. Opie was a student of the British artist Michael Craig Martin, who is represented by a number of works in the Davis collections.