Pig Pen (1993) | Untitled #9 (2013), 2021

Artspace and Phaidon are proud to debut two new limited editions by inimitable photographer and cultural pioneer Catherine Opie. Untitled #9 (2013/2021) and Pig Pen (1992/2021), each an exclusive run of only five signed and numbered pigment prints, accompany the first monograph to survey Opie’s 40-year career with comprehensive breadth.

Widely recognized as a leading artist of her generation, Opie has cultivated a body of work which spans both documentary and conceptual photography, represented by Pig Pen and Untitled #9, respectively. Each limited edition set comprises one signed and numbered print as well as the Phaidon monograph housed in a bespoke cloth-covered, screen-printed clamshell box and custom gloves for handling.

Pig Pen (1993/2021) depicts Opie’s longtime friend and collaborator Pig Pen, a constant presence in the artist’s oeuvre who most recently starred as the protagonist in Opie’s 2017 film The Modernist. Pig Pen was originally shot as part of Opie’s famed Portraits series (1993–97), in which the artist photographed individuals and couples from queer leather communities in Los Angeles and San Francisco against brightly colored studio backdrops. Now among her most sought-after works, the Portraits were groundbreaking in the ‘90s for their dignified, elegant, and highly aestheticized depictions of those marginalized both by society at large as well as by the mainstream gay rights movement gaining traction at the time.

Untitled #9 (2013/2021) comes from Opie’s ongoing series Portraits and Landscapes, first exhibited at Regen Projects, Los Angeles, in 2013. The landscapes in the series, as in Untitled #9, present painterly images of iconic American landscapes shot with a racked focus, rendering historic sites ambiguous and semi-abstract. These sublime, atmospheric images become as much a portrait of psychological space as a physical one. In this image, Opie depicts the Falls, continuing and reinterpreting the tradition of romantic, majestic images of the American outback pioneered by Pictorialist photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston.

Explore More

For almost 40 years, Los Angeles-based artist Catherine Opie (b. 1961 Sandusky, OH) has been documenting with psychological acuity the cultural and geographic identity of contemporary America. Building on her early training in both documentary and conceptual photography, Opie’s work conjoins typological, aesthetic, social, and personal concerns. Her work stems from ongoing investigations of identity through a considered treatment of subjects that create archetypal images out of previously overlooked subjects and sites.

Opie received her BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts. She holds an endowed position in the department of art at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she has been a professor of photography since 2001. Her work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions worldwide, including solo exhibitions at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo (2017); MOCA Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles (2016); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2016); Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (2015); Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2011); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2010); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2008); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2006), among others. Work by the artist is included in the permanent collections of many museums internationally, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and Centro Cultural Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; among others. Opie is represented by Regen Projects, Los Angeles; Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong; and Thomas Dane Gallery, London.

Courtesy of Artspace

All our frames are manufactured in the USA, using eco-friendly and sustainably sourced engineered hardwood for durability and a uniform finish that is free of defects. Frames are available in Black or White Satin and Honey Pecan.

All prints are hinged to a conservation quality, acid-free and lignin-free Alpha Cellulose matboard, using an acid-free linen tape. The mat's surface paper is fade and bleed resistant and is attached to a conservation quality foam-core mounting board that will keep the work safe from deterioration over time. Artworks with a deckled or decorative edges will be floated on the matboard, with acrylic spacers to separate the art from the glazing. All mounting is fully reversible, without any potential damage to the art.

All of our frames come with picture quality .090 mm plexiglass, which blocks 66% of UV to prevent color fading from exposure to light, keeping your art protected for years to come. It is now considered the industry standard for artists, museums and galleries throughout the world.

For images up to 30" x 40"

• 1 1/4” wide, 3/4” deep, with a 2 1/2” wide mat.
• We generally leave 1/4” - 1/2” of paper showing around the image, to accommodate signatures and for visual appeal.

For sheet sizes larger than 30” x 40" please contact an Artspace advisor for a custom quote.

Our art editions ship in 7 to 10 business days from New York.

Our framed art editions ship in 11 to 14 business days from New York.

This work is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt of delivery.

Questions about this work?

Interested in other works by this artist or other artists? We will source them for you.

Contact an Artspace Advisor at advisor@artspace.com