Biography

Christophe Conder is an Australian sculptor with more than 16 years of professional practice, creating contemporary sculpture for public art, architectural, landscape, hospitality, memorial and private residential settings. His work ranges from intimate hand-carved stone pieces to landmark-scale commissions, connected by an ongoing interest in organic movement, balance, void and fullness, and the relationship between form, light, shadow, material and place.

Christophe began sculpting at the age of 10, initially working in soapstone and clay before being introduced to sandstone by his French-born mother, who was also a sculptor. During his school years, he produced works in soapstone, clay, Hebel stone and sandstone, receiving early recognition through the Mosman Art Prize and a nomination for Art Express.

Following an early career in brand design, development and marketing, Christophe returned to sculpture professionally in 2007. Since then, his practice has evolved from hand-carved sandstone into an increasingly diverse body of public-art, architectural and landscape commissions, while retaining the direct, hands-on approach that first drew him to sculpture.

Materials & Process

Christophe works across Australian sandstone, marble, bronze, stainless steel, aluminium, Corten steel and contemporary fabricated materials. His practice combines traditional hand processes with contemporary design development, digital visualisation, engineering coordination and specialist fabrication. This allows him to develop each work from early concept sketches and maquettes through to material selection, fabrication, transport, installation and long-term maintenance planning.

Sandstone remains central to his practice. Influenced by the sandstone cliffs, beaches and foreshores of Sydney Harbour, Christophe hand-selects Australian sandstone for its grain, iron bands, colour variation, texture and natural character. Working with hammers, chisels, rasps and abrasives, he gradually removes material to reveal forms that are informed by, rather than imposed upon, the stone.

“…I carve stone as an invitation to touch. I want people to feel the smooth, warm strength and polished texture of the stone. I believe that the relevance of touching a stone is increasingly important in this visual age.  I will never forget the day my son at the age of two, saw one of my abstract female works positioned in the backyard for the first time. He went straight up the torso with both hands and slid them down across her face and over her shoulders exploring the textures and spaces. It spoke volumes to me. If a 2 year old wanted to do this instinctively then i’d image all of us would like to do the same…”

His works often contrast smooth, flowing and highly resolved surfaces with raw, fractured or naturally textured passages. These contrasts preserve the geological character of the material while creating a sense of movement, energy and contemporary abstraction.

Sculpture & Touch

Conder’s sculpture invites viewers to move around, encounter and continually re-read each work. His forms explore the relationship between interior and exterior, concave and convex, weight and lightness, shadow and reflection, and void and fullness. While rooted in observations of the female form, the landscape and natural processes, his sculptures do not directly imitate particular subjects. Instead, they distil these influences into simplified, balanced and intuitive forms.

Tactility remains particularly important to his work. Christophe sees sculpture as an experience that extends beyond viewing alone: a work can be approached, circled and, where appropriate, touched.

“I carve sandstone as an invitation to touch. I want people to feel the smooth, warm strength and polished texture of the stone. In an increasingly image-based world, I believe this physical encounter with material remains an important part of the experience of sculpture.”

This interest in physical encounter carries across his material range—from the warmth of sandstone and Carrara marble to the reflected movement of polished stainless steel, the depth of bronze and the architectural clarity of fabricated metal.

Recent Public Art

Recent and current commissions demonstrate the growing scale, technical breadth and international reach of Christophe’s practice:

Forced Adoptions Memorial, Parramatta North, NSW — Stolen Hearts – Broken Bonds is a permanent public memorial commissioned by the NSW Memorial Consultative Committee and Property and Development NSW. The work incorporates hand-sculpted Carrara-marble mother and infant forms, a powder-coated aluminium dividing wall and a reinforced-concrete foundation system. Its teardrop-shaped aperture creates a poignant symbolic connection between separation, loss and enduring maternal bond.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore — Christophe has been commissioned to develop four site-specific freestanding sculptures for the Premier Check-in areas of the Marina Bay Sands hotel-lobby redevelopment. Developed through Sweeney&Co Art Advisors in collaboration with Rockwell Group, the works are being fabricated in 316L stainless steel with a brass electroplated finish.

Esperance, Hope Island, Queensland — Sail Gateway is a commissioned permanent public artwork for GreenFort Capital’s Esperance residential development. Designed as a street-facing arrival marker, the work will be fabricated in satin-white powder-coated 316L stainless steel and mounted on a rendered concrete plinth within an integrated landscape and pedestrian setting.

Greentown Symphony Shanghai / Chaoming Oriental, Shanghai — In collaboration with UAP, Christophe is developing two site-specific sculptures for the landscaped courtyards of a premium residential development on Shanghai’s West Bund. The project explores a connected material and formal language across stone sculptures positioned in relation to water, planting and pedestrian movement.

Stockland Macquarie Park Precinct, Sydney — Entrance sculpture commission, 2025.

Robert Menzies College, Sydney — Entrance sculpture commission, 2025.

Royal Queensland Golf Club, Brisbane — The 19th Hole is a one-of-a-kind Hawkesbury sandstone sculpture on a bronze-alloy plinth, commissioned and gifted by the Harrison family for the club’s outdoor social and landscape setting.

Crown Sydney, Barangaroo — Christophe completed commissions for Crown Sydney’s VIP Lounge and a’Mare restaurant, including Cibella, a hand-carved Hawkesbury sandstone sculpture developed for the restaurant’s architectural and waterfront context.

Celebrity Ascent Cruise Ship — Lounge sculpture commission, 2023.

Aureus Fortuna, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai — Hotel-lobby sculpture commission, 2023.

Balmoral Beach, Mosman Council — Public artwork commission, 2018.f

Cahill Park, Sydney — Public artwork commission for Glascott Landscape & Civil, 2016.

Practice Today

Based between studios in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Christophe continues to develop ambitious sculptural works for civic, architectural, hospitality, landscape and private environments. He collaborates closely with clients, art advisors, architects, landscape architects, engineers, specialist fabricators and installers to ensure each work is both aesthetically resolved and technically robust.

His work has been commissioned, exhibited and collected throughout Australia and internationally, with installations and commissions in Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. Across every scale and material, Christophe’s aim is to create enduring sculptures that contribute identity to a place, encourage physical engagement and offer a meaningful experience through form, light, movement and material presence.