INTERVIEW China Tease Julian O ie is heading east. But will his 0 叩 00k 磊 0 right 1 " g00g0 ? ulian Opie has been making art since he When we meet, though, on a drizzly Febru- YOUR FACE: was 12. While his friends were misbehav- ary morning in east London, he's deep in plan- Opie's self- ing after school, he was in his bedroom portrait in mosaic ning mode for his first major solo show in China, tiles, made ⅲ in 1970S Oxford, working on one pr0Ject which opens in late March at the slick new 2014 , shows his after another, reviSlng and remaking. Fosun Foundation exhibition sp ac e in the Bund typically clear, communicative That is where and when, he says, his driving Finance Center, Shanghai. David Tung, Asia use Of line. need t0 go back t0 things began. He was always representative 0f the Lisson Gallery, feels this is figuring out hOW tO m ake a pie ce b ette r than he the right moment for Opie tO make his move intO had the day before. "l've been doing that ever China. "There has been tremendous change 1n Slnce," he says. the cultural landscape in the past few years, ” he Opie, now 58 , has been a success from the says. There is great ambition for new [Chinese] moment he graduated, in 1982. He'd studied at institutions tO position themselves in the global Goldsmiths University in London under concep- conversatlon ofcontemporary art. ' New auctlon tual artist Michael Craig-Martin, whose way Of houses, pnvate museums and commercial art thinking, Opie says, was a close match with his fairs are launching all the time, enhancing the own. His degree show—a multimedia combi- opportunity t0 sell—and buy. ℃ hinese collec- nation Of animated films, wall paintings, fish tanks and perfume—sparke d interest almost immedi- IN EUROPE, HIS ALBUM ately from collectors and COVER FOR 召 S 〇五召力し gallerie s such as the Lis- son, which still represents SUMMED UP A WHOLE him. Opie has exhibited DECADE OF POP POSTURING. his paintings and sculp - ture s internationally and reached beyond the tra- ditional gallery audience with his animated LED outlines ofhuman figures tors are learning fast and moving faster," says walking, s ometimes pre sented on billboards on Jehan Chu, an art adviser based in Hong Kong City StreetS, sometimes elsewhere—as With the WhO works with some Of China's most promi- nent collectors. "They can be seen at all the top huge, computer-generated animatlons that acted as a backdrop t0 wayne McGregor's 2008 ballet events, from Venice tO Art Basel, snappmg up ー〃女 4 at London's Royal Opera House. works from Joan Mitchell to Jonas Wood. ” With ln Europe, he's probably most famous for his this show as a launching point, Opie is making deslgnfor theBest ofBluralbum cover from 2000. a bid tO be part 0f a powerful art marketwith a growmg ln eres ln estern art1StS. S 1g1 a y pro grap ICS 0 e an S our members (pink skin, scribble d hairlines, black The studiO where Opie is preparing tO meet dOts for eyes) were simple and vital. Faces that got hiS new ASian audience iS an unassuming four- st London. The spacevmuch like his work, is uncluttered: white walls, wooden pop postunng and cemented his position as one BY ofBritain's best-known artists. "l've been lucky, floorboards. Opie opens the door wearing jeans OLIVIA he says. "I never really needed t0 get a j0b. and a gray POIO shirt and introduces the team WEINBERG 十 3 ココ V 9 N 0 S S 一、 3 一 d 0 N V ココ「 NEWSWEEK 57 MARCH 24 , 2017

I N T E R V 工 E W Of 14—technicians, fabrication specialists and studiO and communication managers—that helps execute hiS ideas. Everyone seems happy, ener- getic; perhaps a result 0fOpie's easy charm. He's an attractlve man, With an open face and a gaze that draws you in; despite this, he prefers not tO be photographed. He takes me t0 his "hideaway' a high-ceilinged room on the top f100% filled with his meticulously arranged collection 0f prehis- toric and me dieval art. Egyptian s culpture s stand among Roman busts and helmets; 19th-century silhouettes are piled up on a st001. lt's perhaps a surprising collection tO belong tO an artist whO SO Ofte n works in digital formats. 。 I like t0 surround myselfwith other people's work; it gives me con- fidence rather than analyzing my own," he says. He shows me a 3-D-generated plan on his com- pute r th at di splays the Shanghai exhibition space exceptional detail. More than 50 works, from wall paintmgs tO mosalcs, tapestries and anima- tions, will be shown across tWO floors. Opie is keen tO build the momentum slowly for visitors as they move through the show. "There's a men- tality t0 [viewing] an exhibition," he says. You're full of energy when you start; you're also full 0f suspicion. You re thinking, ls this boring? DO I really like this artist? lnitially, 田 don't want t0 show tO 0 much—but at the same tlme , I want tO intrigue. ' He will be uploading this virtual display tO his website SO that anyone can visit the exhibi- tion without actually being there physically. lt's b0th a simple concept and a typical Opie-ism: You wonder Why no one else iS dOing lt. When you 100k at the range ofexhibits, it's clear why Opie is celebrated for his mastery 0f diverse media, from LE D and digital formats t0 sculpture and paint. But his real strength is in his ability tO look at the world with extraordinary clarity, getting to the nub ofcomplicated subjects by stripping out unnecessary detail. His work is pared back, dis- tilled—and yet it has a distinctive language that is instantly readable. Take CO リワ R04 イ , Da れ or Ⅳ 4 化 Man: a black outline, blocks of color and not much more—but they are alive. "That's the kind of way in which I understand art: be ing sim- ple and essential. Anything other than that seems like a waste oftime," Opie says ・ There's humor t00 , a lightheartedness. P ″ 0 ら DO け andAirHostess are part 0fa playful senes Of brightly colored paintings in the upcoming show, portraits 0f anonymous people whom Opie has observed and photographed anonymously out on the street, labeling them with imagmary pro- fessions. He has no idea what the people in the paintings actually do:'You make Judgments when you 卩 00k at] people fast; you think they might be this, they might be that. " Opie is having a laugh, Å8 当コ V 9 N 0 S S コ、 3 一 d 0 N V コつ「 4 NEWSWEEK 58 M A R C H 2 4 , 2 017

but he is also asking quesfions about how we 100k at things and what assumpfions we make. The “ MAKI NG A short, snappy titles are by design. "You don't want SICONNECTI O like'Rising PhoeniY that suggest there's more there than there is," he WITH THE VIEWER says. But he remembers a time when he used tO give his works much longer name s. 。 I would write IS KEY," HE SAYS. an essay about what was going through my mind, he says. But that was mostly to annoy curators. paintmgs and ink on paper, but as they travel, THE LANGUAGE TEST Opie has shown work in China once before, they see more Of the world, they visit museums, though as part ofthe U. K. 's pavilion for the 2010 and their interests [in art] broaden. lt's a natu- World Expo in Shanghai. He admits he has found ral progresslon. " Fabien pacory, an art adV1ser, the experience easier this time, which he puts curator and entrepreneur WhO has been based down t0 Shanghai's rapid development, cultural in Guangzhou for 13 years, agrees. "The art mar- and otherwise. saw a much more varied place, ket in Hong Kong is well established, but main- this time older bits and newer bits—it's changed land China is different; you can now feel that a great a deal. ” Changing tastes might also play a something is happemng," he says. There's a part. "Every culture starts [by buying]their own new wave Of collectors whO are young, fresh and heritage, says Patti Wong, chairman Of SOthe- active; they bring a new perspective. ” But infor- by's Asia. "For the Chinese, it's their ceramlcs, mation is key. 'We don't have the social media that's available in Europe and America thanks to heavy internet censorship, SO it's Often dffcult tO find conte nt. The Chine se are curious ; they want tO discover things, but Western artists need tO make more Of an effort tO promote their work and translate it. " When pacory searches for Opie on Baidu (the Chinese version ofGoogIe), he can find only one article in Mandarin. SO has Opie made anywork for the show that is specifically aimed at a Chinese audience? "l've thought a bit about locality," he says, "because making a connection with the viewer is key. But if I felt that some element of the work would only be understood by a few, it would seem like a failure to me. Before I leave, we talk again about his adoles- cent experiments with making and remaking. I used t0 paint the walls in my parents' house, ” he says. Sea, water, a bit 0fland across the middle. I did portraits t00 and bits of bodies. ” Even back then, he was making the same kind ofart he does today: straightforward, logical and true. That's why the new show should succeed, as the beauty Of Opie's art is in its universal language. There is an honesty and generosity tO his work that draws you in—・ it C01 れ e S With no pre S sure tO extract a deep-rooted message. SO what is it that he would —likepeoplentakeawayfrom vthe•how>"l -jusÜ want peop e tO recogmze t at S01 れ e 0 y e se IS alive and tO feel S01 れ e sort Of communication, he replies. With any luck, the art will provide its 十 KINETIC ENERGY: New works include Joggers from 2015 and Traffic from 2016. 」 ulian Opie: Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, Mar. 28 to 」 une 10. N E W S W E E K 59 M A R C H 2 4 , 2017

Newsweek こミ三宀を MAR c H 2 4 , 2 0 17 / V0 L . 16 8 / N 0 . 11 ー N T E R N A T ー 0 N A L 十 FOAM HOME: A man covers hiS face to avoid the smells coming from the Yamuna River, DeIhi's most vital water source and lndia's most polluted waterway. Mexico ℃ limate of Terror' N E W W 〇 R L D Pneumonia YoungLungSprung Energy ThisIs Getting Old 48 SIeep Pillow Power 50 Cyberwarfare Shock and 3-D Awe Bacteria Super-Bugging Out 44 46 52 D E P A R T M E N T S W E E K E N D 54 The PIace to Be Cape Winelands, South Africa ー nterview 」 ulian Opie 60 Books Designs That Matter; Mohsin Hamid Screening Room, Radar Personal Shopper; 」 amiroquai 4 Parting ShOt Boxing, Beijing F E A T IJ R E S The New AIamo 田 G S H 〇 T S 22 56 The fight over immigration is about to get ugly, and Texas is where the bodies will start falling. 切 70 訪立 34 Something ⅲ the Air As New DeIhi overtakes Beijing as the most polluted city on earth, its citizens are ghting to breathe. ー切なの tor 0 ーアん 0 ね 2 ん切 / “ん , た“ん Seou れ South Korea Spraylt, Don't SayIt MosuI, lraq Running From 旧旧 London Last Exit Before 10 New York Showing Her Metal 4 6 8 62 一工 38 3 一 8V 工 0V7 COVER CREDIT: ILLUSTRATION BY RED LINE Newsweek 0SSN2052-1081 ) , is published weekly except one week in 」 anuary, 」 u ツ , August and October. Newsweek (EMEA) is published by Newsweek Ltd (part of the 旧 T Media Group Ltd), 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LQ, UK. printed by Quad/Graphics Europe Sp z 0.0.. Wyszkow, poland FO 「 Article Reprints, Permissions and Licensing www.IBTreprints.com/Newsweek 12 PoIitics The Latte Party FOR MORE HEADLINES, GO TO NEWSWEEK ℃ OM 1 N E W S W E E K M A R C H 2 4 , 2 017