At the intersection of harbour-side elegance and contemporary fine art, Eterno Property Group’s newly completed ODE Double Bay welcomes the first permanent Australian sculptural installation by artist Stephen Ormandy.
There is a deliberate conversation happening on the ground plane in Double Bay. As Eterno Property Group wraps up construction this November on its boutique development, ODE, the building’s arrival sequence is being anchored by an expressive new presence: a permanent, site-specific public sculpture by renowned Australian artist Stephen Ormandy.
While Ormandy’s large-scale commissions have populated public and institutional spaces overseas, the ODE piece marks the very first time one of his signature sculptural works has taken root permanently on Australian soil.
Art Born from Architecture
Ormandy’s sculptural methodology relies on what he terms an “alphabet of shapes”—modular, tactile components derived originally from the cube that he manipulates like a three-dimensional collage. For ODE, that process meant testing iteratively against the physical site, seeking a visual cadence that would speak directly to the building’s streetscape and communal domain.
“The sculptures are created from an alphabet of shapes individually born from the cube… I’m looking for rhythms in the interplay of positive and negative spaces,” Ormandy notes.
The resulting piece sits at the entrance as a tactile beacon. Finished with Ormandy’s sharp command of chroma, surface, and contour, it offers a shot of playfulness and kinetic energy against the masonry backdrop of one of Sydney’s most affluent harbourside pockets.
A Study in Sydney Craft
The commission sits inside a broader design dialogue spearheaded by Italian-Australian architect Luigi Rosselli and interior architecture studio Atelier Alwill. Limited to just 17 private residences, ODE was conceived around expansive proportions, textural honesty, and seamless fluid transitions between internal living spaces and the bay’s coastal air.
Rather than treating art as an afterthought or a framed wall dressing in the foyer, Eterno embedded the installation directly into the arrival architecture.
“ODE Double Bay was conceived as more than a collection of residences; it is a celebration of architecture, art and lifestyle,” explains Katie Rea, Marketing Director at Eterno Property Group. “Stephen Ormandy’s work brings another layer of distinction to the project, creating a lasting artistic legacy within one of Sydney’s most prestigious neighbourhoods.”
Across the Suburb: ‘Listening’
For those looking to explore Ormandy’s current chapter in greater depth, the artist is simultaneously showing Listening across two nearby Woollahra spaces: Olsen Gallery on Jersey Road and the Olsen Annexe on Queen Street. The dual-venue exhibition merges his polychrome sculptures and painted canvases with spatial sound, drawing direct lines between tonal harmony and musical composition.
As gallery director Tim Olsen puts it: “Stephen’s works are like totems of his emotions, and this exhibition strikes chords that clash, chime, and resonate like musical notes.”
With ODE Double Bay reaching final delivery, the installation gives Double Bay something rare in multi-residential development: a work of scale and intent that belongs as much to the public streetscape as it does to the address itself.
Read here for more art-related stories.
