David Wiseman “Wilderness and Ornament”
R & Company
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R & Company presents Wilderness and Ornament, the second solo exhibition of works by Los Angeles-based designer David Wiseman. The exhibition features new designs and never-before-seen architectural installations.
Wilderness and Ornament is an opulent exploration of the artist’s references to nature and the influence of decorative arts history on Wiseman’s practice and his body of unique handmade works. In his artist statement, Wiseman writes, “As early as I can remember, I have been interested in drawing patterns — geometries that repeat to create structures, tiles and borders, as well as abstracting trees and flowers to create flourishes and symbols. I remember being completely engrossed by my grandmother’s folio of Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament, admiring the detailed color plates and amazed by the sheer variety and beauty of all the distinct patterns from different cultures, from Papuan to Viennese to Japanese — how they internalized and were inspired by the wilderness around them through patterns and ornament.”
Until the 20th century, exquisite and complex patterns and details were a ubiquitous presence in many human societies and were included in wall decorations, architectural ornaments, furniture, tableware, fashion — essentially all aspects of life, irrespective of class or geography. After the onset of Modernism, this ornamentation came to represent for many a decadent past, but, in Wiseman’s hand, it signifies an elegant and sincere attempt to delight in the sublime beauty and mystery of the natural world by incorporating it into the visual landscape of our daily lives.
The objects and architectural elements on view in Wilderness and Ornament are a culmination of Wiseman’s years of looking at the world through the lens of its patterns. His California upbringing instilled in him a passion for the blooming abundance and ephemera of the natural world’s myriad and diverse patterning. His travels and readings inform the references he borrows and the historical precedents he articulates through his cast bronze and porcelain works. What sets Wiseman apart, though, is the way in which he edits and reworks these influences to create modern interiors that are relevant and captivatingly full of detail and wonder. Wilderness and Ornament will transform the gallery space into one of Wiseman’s signature, full-room installations, featuring chandeliers and walls infused with decorative motifs.
Says Evan Snyderman, founding partner of R & Company, “For David Wiseman’s second solo exhibition at R & Company, the designer has taken his fascination with, and celebration of, ornament and pattern to the next level, expanding his attention to the walls and ceiling of the space, realizing his dream of the gesamtkunstwerk. The detailed patterns and textures drawn from global references inspires us to think not only about history, but also about the future of design and how he’s influencing and changing it for us all.”
About David Wiseman
David Wiseman (b. 1981) captures and preserves the fleeting beauty of natural forms — including blossoming trees, perched animals, cellular structures and glacial formations — in his limited edition objects and architectural installations. He articulates these moments, elegantly poised between artifice and reality, through his expertise with materials and processes, and his studied and thoughtful engagement with an international history of design and decorative arts from antiquity to the present.
Each piece Wiseman creates is hands-on and labor intensive. His explorations with a wide array of media such as porcelain, metals and Czech crystal facilitate his unique approach. In not limiting himself to any one medium or process, Wiseman allows each material choice to reveal an intrinsic quality, texture, or subtlety present in nature.
Wiseman has created site-specific installations for public institutions, international brands and private collections. His works are held in the collections of the Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY) and the Museum Of Art Rhode Island School Of Design (Providence, RI). His work made its institutional début in Design Life Now, the 2006 Design Triennial at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. In 2014, his work was exhibited at the Bernardaud Foundation, Limoges, France.
Wiseman, a 2003 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), lives and works in Los Angeles.
Media
Schedule
from May 11, 2015 to June 25, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-05-11 from 18:00 to 20:00