ARTIST BIO 

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Robert Obier (b. 1957 in Baton Rouge, LA) is a multimedia artist whose sculptural work bridges traditional craftsmanship and emerging technologies.

 

Drawing on a background spanning more than four decades as an architect and industrial designer, Obier creates works that explore the intersection of organic and mechanical forms, natural geometry, and speculative futures. 

 

Obier combines traditional woodworking and metalworking with digital processes such as computer modeling, CNC fabrication, and 3D printing to construct objects that appear both excavated and futuristic: artifacts from imagined worlds that feel simultaneously familiar and unknown. His practice reflects a long-standing fascination with organic architecture, the mathematical patterns found in nature, and the visual language of cinematic world-building. 

 

Obier’s work has received numerous awards from organizations including Society of Canadian Artists, National Art League, and Allied Artists of America. His work has been exhibited nationally at institutions and exhibitions including Alexandria Museum of Art (Alexandria, LA), Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA), Art League of Hilton Head (Hilton Head, SC), and The Blanc Art Center (New York, NY), as well as art fairs such as Art Miami, The Hamptons Fine Art Fair, and the LA Art Show. 

 

He lives and works in Baton Rouge, LA. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

 

My exploration of form is rooted in my passion for design, invention and technology.  From the artful drawings of Leonardo Di Vinci to the computer generated creations of Industrial Light and Magic, I am inspired by the human imagination and I strive to understand the hidden unifying principals that shape our understanding of the world and are the genesis of our best creations.  

 

My work explores the fusion of the disciplines of architecture, industrial design and fine art.  Each piece is as much a realization of an abstract design concept as it is a unique work of three-dimensional art.  

 

A strict and systematic organization of components define this work and manifest a distinct unifying methodology that has both physical and spiritual origins. The forms are intentionally abstract giving shape to that initial "spark" of design inspiration. Schematic concepts emerge as built objects without the practical or functional restrictions that necessarily accompany the development of an architectural or industrial product. 

 

The final sculpted artwork is usually derived from an initial “thumbnail” sketch. The preliminary shapes are often explored and refined through multiple iterations as 3-d computer models. The work combines the "tried and true" techniques of old-fashioned craftsmanship with today's most advanced rapid prototyping technologies such as CAD modeling, 3-D printing, and CNC fabrication. From creation through completion this dichotomy of ‘handmade’ and ‘computer generated’ informs the development and execution of the work.

 

Particular finish applications such as weathering and rust recall an ‘earlier time’ in the story of certain pieces  - the scars of a past life.  Nevertheless, the work has a timeless quality - seeming to exist in the past, the present and the future - simultaneously.