Dance and Sprint with Julian Opie

Picasso Through the Eyes of Paul Smith in Shanghai

The minimal, pared-down style of Julian Opie (b.1958) is instantly recognizable and has resonated with people around the world. The people he observes, then draws, sculpts and digitizes can be anyone, anywhere. Opie sometimes names the place in which he observed the figures, but without the title it would be hard to tell their origin, because they are so universal.

“I am asking the viewer to interact with the work,” he said, “I am predicting what kind of people will look at it and what they will bring to that work. So I am assuming a certain baggage that people bring to these images and I am playing with that. But you can never entirely predict your audience; maybe they will bring something else which will be more interesting.”

Dance Figure 3 and Dance Figure 4, lenticular works, available at VFA, move with the viewer. Even Opie's silkscreen prints and bronze figures have a sense of movement.

Opie’s work is currently on view at a solo exhibit at Galerie Krobath in Vienna through January 16, 2026 and in a group show at König Telegraphenamt in Berlin through January 31, 2026.

His works can be found in public displays throughout the world and in major museums including the Tate, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Takamatsu City Museum of Art in Japan.

Julian Opie lives and works in London.

An unique exhibit of Pablo Picasso’s work is on view at the Museum of Art Pudong (MAP) in Shanghai.

The exhibit was curated by British fashion designer, Paul Smith in collaboration with MAP and the Musée National Picasso in Paris.

Smith was asked to curate the exhibit because of his unique perspective on style and design. "Picasso is a genius, and I'm a modest clothes designer," Smith said in Shanghai. "But if there are any similarities (between us), I would say it's curiosity. He was always looking for new ideas, new things,”

The works on view span Picasso’s entire career. Picasso Through the Eyes of Paul Smith will be on view at MAP through May 3, 2026, its first stop on in international tour.

An exhibit at the Tate Modern celebrates Picasso’s The Three Dancers, 1925 centenary, one of the museum’s most famous works.