Philodendron
Medium: MDF
Limited edition of 5
L 65cm W 33cm H 17cm
With Philodendron, Olivier Duhamel transforms the reclining nude into a study of rhythm, structure, and organic flow. Composed of precisely layered wooden contours, the sculpture evokes both the topography of a landscape and the unfolding geometry of a leaf—an interplay that gives the work its botanical title.
The figure stretches luxuriously across the horizontal plane, her body rendered not as a continuous surface but as a sequence of parallel strata. This technique reveals the form through absence as much as presence: light slips between the layers, casting delicate shadows that animate the sculpture as the viewer moves around it. The effect is both sensual and architectural, a fusion of natural curves and deliberate construction.
Warm timber tones and the tactile ridges of the laminated wood invite close inspection, emphasising Duhamel’s mastery of digital-to-physical craft. Philodendron reflects the artist’s fascination with the body as landscape—an environment of folds, slopes, and flowing lines—while celebrating the inherent beauty and grain of the material itself.
At once contemporary and timeless, the piece transforms repose into sculptural choreography, offering a serene yet dynamic meditation on form, nature, and the layered complexity of the human figure.
Other series exists at different scale, material and colours.
Price on application
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Olivier Duhamel
New Zealand sculptor Olivier Duhamel has established his art practice on Waiheke in 2004. His distinctive laminated sculptures in wood, in acrylic and in bronze are held in many private and public collections and exhibited around the world but …
