David Wiseman - by Mayer Rus & Susan Weber & David Wiseman (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An intimate look at this highly acclaimed and popular L.A.-based contemporary designer and artist, who marries old-world techniques with a modern twist, and is best known for his exquisite craftsmanship and detailed creations in bronze, porcelain, and crystal.

David Wiseman is one of the leading American designers of his generation. Produced in collaboration with the artist, this monograph offers an in-depth look at his work, through Wiseman's extensive archives, documents, and illustrations. The book features sketches and photographs of his unique sculptural objects and environmental installations that reveal a true portrait of the artist at work.

The book also shows readers many of his immersive creations that are in private homes and are rarely photographed. Wiseman's goal is creating work that brings nature indoors, ranging from small objects and sculptures to expansive installations. His signature Radial Branch chandelier, made of bronze and sculptured porcelain, is cast from fallen tree limbs he acquired on hiking trails in Los Angeles. His distinct patterns and motifs reveal his deeply rooted love of the natural world--which is evident in designs ranging from faceted-blown-Bohemian-glass crystal tumblers and porcelain vases to rugs, dining room tables, stools, and benches.

Review Quotes

"This Nature-Focused Design Book Is the Perfect Lockdown Escape...David Wiseman's sumptuous new monograph is here to delight." --ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

"If you haven't heard of [David Wiseman] it's because his imagination often runs wild behind closed doors. He transforms clients' private residences into calming oases, bringing the outdoors in with magnificent, metal fireplace screens and sprawling, flowering branch installations that appear rooted in the architecture. To experience them is to be lucky enough to receive a personal invitation to these homes--or order a copy of Wiseman's eponymous new book (Rizzoli, available April 2020).
The tome doubles as a visual feast of pattern. "I have always been drawn to nature in my work," he says. "And within the natural world, magnificent patterns abound, from crystalline structures to honeycombs, and cell formations to ocean swells." His motifs transcend even these, calling on decorative wood carvings, mosque adornments and more across cultures and time periods."
--SCHUMACHER

"FORCE OF NATURE: Artist David Wiseman's abstractions of natural forms forge bonds as strong as those he creates in his enchanted world of bronze, porcelain and plaster." --LALA MAGAZINE

About the Author

Mayer Rus is the West Coast editor of Architectural Digest. Susan Weber is the founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. David Wiseman is an American artist and designer. From Pasadena, California, Wiseman studied furniture design at the Rhode Island School of Design. Bobbye Tigerman is the Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Ari Wiseman is a partner with David Wiseman in Wiseman Studio and a former museum executive and curator.