Olivier Duhamel - Complete Artist CV

The young Duhamel leaves France before his 20th birthday for extensive travels in Europe, in Africa and in the South Pacific. He arrives in New Zealand with his wife in 1986 and leads a successful 15 years career as a software engineer until 2002 at which times he resumes his artistic pursuits.

A self taught hobbyist and long time recreational draughtsman Mr. Duhamel has been a student of Chrystèle Legardinier (etching on copper plates – 1985) and of David Reid (sculptor and founder -2006). He has been a member of the Catherine Mitchell Life Drawing group since 2004.

His principal inspiration is the female nude which he depicts using graphite pencil on paper with great attention to details. Since 2006, Olivier Duhamel also makes small figurative bronze sculptures. The rapid success of these classical and elegant figurines convinces him to become a full time sculptor.

Like few other sculptors, Olivier Duhamel casts his bronze himself in his Waiheke workshop. This allows him to keep full control over the entire creative process. He prides himself on the quality of his castings.

Loyal to his inspiration of the human form figurative expression,  Olivier also makes amazingly detailed and realistic custom life castings. He is the author of the popular "body casting manual", a guide explaining in easy to follow instructions everything one needs to know to make a plaster sculpture of someone chest. 

His studio and workshop is open to visitors by appointment or by contacting one of Waiheke Island tour operators.

Olivier Duhamel’ s creations do not convey any particular message, do not attempt any conceptual or symbolist exploration, nor do they search to be innovative at all cost. They are rather trying to simply capture the beauty and sensuality of his subjects.

His bronze works are sold in galleries across New Zealand and in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Paris, Marseilles, Nantes, Bruxelles and Shangai.

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Artist sculptor.
Self employed. January 2004 to date
After a successful 20 years career in IT industry, I have spent the last few years establishing a bronze sculpture practice. I have now developed a network of art galleries representing my work in New Zealand, in Australia and in Europe. I teach a number of practical creative workshops, publish a number of art manuals and offer pencil drawings and life casting services on commission.

Senior Director, Research and Development.
Symantec NZ Ltd, Auckland July 1998 to September 2003
Responsibilities for the development of the Symantec Ghost product line, leading a team of 47 engineers and technicians. Based in Auckland and reporting to head office in California, this senior leadership position carried overall responsibilities of the development, Quality Assurance, project management, budget ownership, technology acquisition and partnership as well as licensing agreement negotiation for the entire product line. My influence included the creation of strategic direction and the establishment of long-term business plans. The role also incorporated general management responsibilities for the direction of the Auckland site (60 employees) During my tenure at the head of the product group, the team grew from 10 employees in 1998 to over 45 permanent and contract staff in 2003 and the product revenue grew 10 folds, becoming the market leader in its category. I was made redundant in September 2003 following a company restructure. My wife encouraged me to take this opportunity to follow my creative aspirations.

Development manager Binary Research Ltd,
Auckland December 1997 to July 1998
I joined Binary Research as development manager to help this young company to implement its expansion plans, leading a small but dynamic group of 10 software engineers. Symantec Corporation acquired the company in July 1998. I was subsequently offered a similar role at Symantec and given the challenge of demonstrating to the US based head office that efficient and cost effective software development was possible from New Zealand.

Contract Developer IBM New Zealand Ltd.
Auckland 1992 to 1997
During these years I contracted to IBM on the Telecom account on various projects. • National Fault and Customer Centre – Network Activation System Development manager – Unix, Sybase, C++ • National Fault and Customer Centre - Network Testing System Team lead – Unix, Oracle, C++ • ICMS – Integrated Customer Management System Analyst Programmer, RPG

IT Manager. Sofrana Shipping,
Auckland 1987 to 1991
This was my first position in New Zealand. I was responsible for the rewriting of all the information systems for this international shipping company and also had day-to-day responsibility of the administration of the IT department.

Various contract positions.
 From 1981 to 1987 I held a number contracting positions as a junior software developer in a variety of environments, in France, Tahiti and New Caledonia.

Second Hand Car Salesman.
As a young man I made several trips to Western and Central Africa. I was buying second hand cars in Europe and driving them across the Sahara desert and selling them in Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger or Togo. This was a life of travels and adventures far more exciting than being an office worker.