Catherine Opie
Portraits of Artists
17 June - 3 December 2023
Collection Gallery | Burlington Gardens
Tues–Sun: 10am–6pm
Fri: 10am–9pm
Free
no booking required
See portraits of five contemporary British artists by photographer Catherine Opie, in this free display in the Collection Gallery.
Spotlighting five newly acquired works by the internationally renowned photographer Catherine Opie, this free display in the Collections Gallery features portraits of leading British artists: Royal Academicians David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Gillian Wearing and Isaac Julien, and Royal Academy Schools graduate Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
Drawing on the theatricality of 17th-century Baroque painting, Opie uses high-contrast lighting to render her subjects in dramatic detail. Placing even the smallest details in acute focus, she invites us to explore these powerful and introspective works with what she describes as an ‘extended gaze’.
These five artist portraits feature as part of Portraits and Landscapes. Begun in 2012, this open-ended series depicts the friends, fellow artists, writers, and fashion designers that Opie most admires.
RA Collection supported by Viking.
Image gallery
David, 2017
Anish, 2017
Gillian, 2017
Lynette, 2017
Isaac, 2017
Watch Catherine Opie talk about her free display
Catherine Opie discusses her portraits of David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Gillian Wearing, Isaac Julien, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye featured in the Collection Gallery.