Julian Opie

Julian Opie, was born in 1958 in London. He graduated from Goldsmiths School of Art in 1983 and lives and works in London. Opie’s formal language is instantly recognizable through artworks that explore how images are represented, perceived and understood. Working in a range of media and drawing from sources as varied as classical portraiture, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Japanese woodblock prints and contemporary public signage, his reductive style evokes both a visual and spatial experience of the world around us.

Major museum exhibitions include Hayward Gallery and ICA, London; MAK, Vienna; Mito Tower, Japan; MoCAK, Krakow; Fosun Foundation, Shanghai; National Gallery of Victoria, Australia; Museu Berardo, Lisbon; PARCO Museum, Tokyo; Galleri F15, Norway as well as the Delhi Triennial, NGV Triennial, Venice Biennial and Documenta.

OP.VR/Venice
For the 2025 Venice Biennale, Julian Opie presents OP.VR/Venice, a pioneering virtual reality installation that expands his ongoing exploration of perception, space, and technology. Known for continually pushing the boundaries between reality and representation, Opie, in his work, constructs a fully immersive, digital exhibition experience.

OP.VR/Venice invites visitors into an immersive digital environment installed within a minimal, low-walled architectural structure. With the use of wireless VR headsets, viewers enter a virtual gallery space that simulates real-world architecture while existing entirely in the digital realm.

Julian Opie’s new VR Venice installation constructs a single, continuous environment inspired by the winding layout of Venetian alleys and canals. Designed as a one-directional path, the experience allows multiple visitors to move through in a flowing sequence, creating the impression of a much larger world within a compact 12 x 12 meter footprint. Along the route, viewers pass through courtyards, cross a virtual bridge, and even enter a palace, encountering artworks integrated into the digital architecture. The immersive drawing-like environment emphasizes spatial illusion and the sensation of walking within a living sketch. Each visit lasts approximately three minutes, with up to four participants navigating the space at a time.

Download PDF