BRONWYN OLIVER

Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
WMC Collection
Transferred to BHP Billiton in June 2005

Bronwyn Oliver, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne, 1995, cat. 5

Work is in good, original condition. Some small abrasions on patination.
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One of Australia's finest object sculptors of the 1990s, the late Bronwyn Oliver drew artistic inspiration both from a range of organic matter – fruit, seedpods, crustaceans – and from a variety of prehistoric and ancient artefacts. As with these formative elements, her sculpture has an appearance of fundamental unity, of simplicity and harmony of form. However, it is important not to overlook the intricate structural detail of her work - as Felicity Fenner observes, 'the apparent simplicity of each piece belies the painstakingly intricate, repetitious and physically laborious requirements of its creative process.'¹

In Sash, we glimpse the technical prowess of Bronwyn Oliver, as well as that 'rare balance between technical, cerebral and allegorical concerns.' Layers of thin copper entwine to create a uniform shape – leaf or crescent moon or blade. The work has a rhythm that engages the viewer and elicits touch - even the patinated rivets have a haptic quality.

Oliver created this work in 1994, the same year she won the Moët & Chandon Fellowship.

1. Felicity Fenner, Mnemonic Chords, Moët & Chandon, Epernay, 2004, p. 5