Robert Hague has been a practicing sculptor for over three decades and during his career he has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Robert was born in Rotorua, New Zealand and re-located to Australia in the mid-1980s.
In 1999 he was awarded ‘The Director’s Prize’ in Sculpture By The Sea, Sydney. In 2000 he received the ‘Waverley Art Prize’ for Sculpture Sydney, and in 2010 he won the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award. Robert’s sculptural work is part of corporate and private collections in Australia, China, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States.
Robert is based in Melbourne working primarily with bronze and steel. He is fascinated by the radical asymmetry of his work, one that forces continued change in the work through rotation. He sees it as a revelation in the making that is constantly challenging his ways of creative thinking.
This work was inspired by a conversation with an American sculptor, about rotational symmetry. ‘I had argued against symmetry but decided to experiment with rotation after his comments on repetition’. In particular to the Orbis series, the internal cuts make reference to the Maori wood carvings he grew up amongst in Rotorua, New Zealand.
I have recently developed a strong interest in creating portraits of horses and hounds in a sophisticated and contemporary art style, exploring dynamic compositions and using the impressive qualities of charcoal. I am engaging in a technicque called ‘sfumato’ where the subjects edges are softly blended imparting an intriguing smoky effect.
I have included examples of my new charcoal artwork collaboration with Allpress Antiques in Melbourne, creating charcoal art inspired by ‘Objects of Virtue’.
This first example of my work is of the much loved whippet ‘Dash’.
Mali Moir
Botanical, Scientific and Natural History Artist.
Waterbased mixed media on Fabriano 100% cotton paper
Signed ‘Personal Collection”
2006
30 cm x 69 cm
70 cm x 103 cm (framed)
Note: My reference material was taken from a live fish sourced from a trout farm in regional Victoria. This painting incorporates a special paint technique I developed to produce a reflective shine on the scales of the fish. This effect is not captured in prints nor is it visible on the screen.
