“My basic material is cardboard, and that will never change. However, cardboard sculptures, although resinated, are not suitable for all situations, such as outdoor exposure.”
For this type of expectation, Olivier work now with BarthelemyArt Foundry, in order to be able to decline some of his bronze works.
The challenge, besides the fact of succeeding in making the casts of the original cardboard works, was to restore the appearance of the initial material as faithfully as possible. A challenge that BarthelemyArt took up brilliantly.
Today, only the Melancholic Monkey is available in a bronze version. It can be seen at the Galerie Philippe Heim in Brussels. If you are interested in the variation of another artwork, know that all the available sculptures can be taken out in bronze. Please contact the artist for more information.
The patina is the final step that allows to give the color (the patina) to a bronze. The bronze sculpture is heated with a blowtorch in order to be patinated with different chemicals, acids or mineral salts, nitrates, applied with a brush. The perfect knowledge of these oxidation processes, associated with the skill of the skater, allows to obtain the desired cardboard appearance.