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Animals, Buildings, Cars, and People is Julian Opie's first U.S.
sculpture survey, featuring fourteen works from nine different series
made between 1997 and the present. Opie mixes and matches icons of the
city, small town, and countryside in City Hall Park. At the northern end
of the exhibition are two light-emitting diode (L.E.D.) sculptures, Bruce
Walking (2004) and Sara Walking (2003), installed on the steps
of the Department of Education's headquarters at the Tweed Courthouse.
These two full-length portraits depict two figures in constant motion
as they appear to walk forward. Around the corner on Broadway, along the
western side of City Hall Park, are two life-size, three-dimensional sculptures
of cars: Imagine you are driving a red car and Imagine you are
driving a white car (both 2004) portray, respectively, a hatchback
and a four-door sedan. Nearby is a trio of enamel-on-glass sculptures-This
is Kiera, This is Monique, and This is Bijou (all 2004)-each
depicting a glamorous female figure. Also along Broadway, near the southern
end of the park, are a group of painted wooden animals called Sheep
Cow Deer Dog Chicken Cat Goat (1997) and two light-box sculptures,
Nantra, pool attendant (2003) and Bijou, model (2004), which
feature close-up portraits of two individuals.
On the other side of the park, along Centre Street and Park Row, are
four more groups of sculpture. My Aunt's Sheep (1997) is an installation
of six enamel-painted aluminum signs of white sheep, which graze on a
small grassy area at the northern end of the park. City? (2004), a cluster
of three-dimensional aluminum modernist skyscrapers, stands near the subway
entrance, facing the Brooklyn Bridge. Village? (2004), a group of plywood
buildings, stands near 6 escaped animals (2001), an installation of street
signs with animals painted on them. Julian Opie distills his images from the world around him, rendering
them in the universally recognizable style of commercial graphics. He
reduces the thing at hand to its most essential lines and color planes,
flattening surfaces, and omitting all idiosyncratic details like dents
on a car or spots on a cow. The resulting images-straightforward pictograms
with bold lines, clean edges, and bright surfaces-read as clearly as traffic
signs.
Julian Opie was born in 1958 in London, where he currently lives and
works. He attended Goldsmith's School of Art in London from 1979-82. His
first solo exhibition was at Lisson Gallery in London in 1983, where he
continues to show his work.
Julian Opie's Animals, Buildings, Cars, and People is sponsored by Forest
City Ratner Companies.
This exhibition is made possible through the cooperation of the City
of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; City of New York Department
of Parks & Recreation, Adrian Benepe, Commissioner; City of New York
Department of Education, Joel I. Klein, Chancellor; and City of New York
Department of Cultural Affairs, Kate D. Levin, Commissioner. Special thanks to Lisson Gallery, London, and BEYER, New York City.
City Hall
Park is located in Lower Manhattan, and is bordered by Broadway, Chambers
Street, Centre Street, and Park Row. The Department of Education's headquarters
at the Tweed Courthouse is located at 52 Chambers Street. Tours of City
Hall and Tweed Courthouse are available; for reservations and more information
please call 311. The nearest subway stations are A, C, E to Chambers Street;
4, 5, 6, J, M, Z to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall; R, W to City Hall; 2, 3 to
Park Place.
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