Robert
Oblon, the artist, has been casting bronze since the early 70s. His
work is a narrative surreal imagery using the female breastplate as
his palate. His bronze sculpture are taken from live models using
molds taken directly from the model and then derives a wax pattern
positive of the breastplate that he then refashions to create his
image( see The Process). The artist may spend months on a single concept
before he feels that the sculpture is ready for the bronze casting
process. Once the sculpture is cast in bronze, he finishes the bronze
himself. Some of these works have been mounted on the wall and his
most recent sculpture have been placed on a fabricated steel base
to bring them off the wall and into the realm of real life. The sculpture
are "in your face" in the sense that you first see them
as traditional figurative sculpture, but upon further inspection,
the viewer is taken by surprise as to the image in front of them.
Oblon has taken what we might assume is traditional figurative sculpture
and transformed it into surreal image using other body parts to function
as nipples and some of the sculptures, he has replaced the breast
nipple with salt shaker heads of cast silver as a means of his narrative
story telling of our preoccupation with the female body and in his
case "how we are fixated on the female breast and it's function".
