David Wiseman

David Wiseman, Lost Valley Mirror, 2019, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

Wiseman was described as “producing the most inspired decorative art in America."[3] His work ranges from expansive site-specific installations to unique and editioned furniture and scultpural lighting. He has “internalized centuries of global design, and the resulting, exquisitely detailed creations—whimsical confabulations of metal, porcelain, and crystal—are deeply rooted in his love of the natural world.[3] Designer and head of art fair Design Miami Rodman Primack says Wiseman “is not afraid of the decorative, as this is not a pejorative term for him, nor is he afraid of outright beauty.”[5]

David Wiseman, Lost Valley Mirror (detail), 2019, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

In a review of his 2015 show Wilderness and Ornament, Artsy notes, “Bronze and porcelain are used to preserve otherwise fleeting moments, like the ephemeral bloom of a cherry blossom, a cracked egg, the twisted form of a lily of the valley, or a hanging hare after the hunt.”[6]

Wiseman credits his awe for nature as his motivating inspiration: "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.[7]

Admiration for designers who were part of the Vienna Secession, like Dagobert Peche and Josef Hoffman; the French artist duo Les Lalanne; as well as traditional patterns from India, France, Korea, and Japan are a large part of Wiseman’s inspiration. “A century ago artists found a way to make ornament relevant to contemporary life, before postwar standardization wiped it away,” Wiseman says. “I’d like to make it relevant again.”[4]

Born and raised in Pasadena, California. Wiseman received his BFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003.[8]

David Wiseman, Cielo de las Granadas, Installation, 2007, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

David Wiseman, Radial Branch Chandelier, 2016, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

While still in school, Wiseman began selling his wall-mounted Deer Hat Hanger in Los Angeles and New York boutiques. His senior thesis, titled Wall Forest, included the deer heads alongside a selection of resin-cast tree branches that appeared to emerge from the walls, and in 2007 was featured in DAAB Books' compendium Wall Design.[9][10]

In 2005, after a brief stint in New York, Wiseman returned to Los Angeles where he created his first porcelain and plaster ceiling installation in a private residence in Hancock Park, LA.[11][12] This ceiling was commissioned by the clients’ decorator, Rodman Primack formerly Director of Design Miami, whom Wiseman has maintained a close working relationship.[13] Wiseman describes his subsequent exploration into creating bespoke ceiling installations as “porcelain and plaster canopies of branches—trees that looked like they were emerging through the surface of the wall. Those branches evolved into chandeliers, and that led to a whole other body of work.”[3] From this initial project, he has developed a robust studio, creating lighting, sculpture, furniture.

In 2020 Wiseman was recognized by Architectural Digest France as one of the 100 great artists and designers[14] and in 2019, Galerie Magazine included Wiseman as one of their selected Creative Minds.[15]

In 2017, together with his brother, Ari Wiseman former Deputy Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation founded Wiseman Studio. Together they run an independent studio that manages the work of David Wiseman, promoting sales, collaborations, and ventures with galleries, museums, and educational organizations. A 30,000-square-foot multi-building former factory complex in Los Angeles’s Frogtown district designed by Ted Porter of Ryall Porter Sheridan Architects — will present exhibitions of David Wiseman’s sculpture and allow access to his process, including bronze casting and porcelain fabrication.[16]

David Wiseman, Bowerbird Table, 2019, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

Wiseman’s work was institutionally recognized in 2006, with the inclusion of his “Cherry Blossom Canoy” installation at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum’s National Design Triennial, Design Life Now,[17] described by Cooper-Hewitt curator Brooke Hodge as “exquisite, almost Rococo.”[5] In 2008, Wiseman began exhibiting with R & Company, a Manhattan-based design gallery representing contemporary and historical designers, where his first two solo shows were held - David Wiseman in 2012, and Wilderness and Ornament in 2015.[2][3]

David Wiseman, Bowerbird Table (detail), 2019, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

In 2019, Kasmin Gallery (New York, NY) presented a solo exhibition of Wiseman’s work, titled Plants, Minerals, and Animals, which featured works reflecting his fascination with the natural world, global decorative arts traditions, and a reverence for honoring timeless craft techniques. The exhibition presented bronze and terrazzo furniture, a monumental mirror, limited edition wallpaper, and sculptural chandeliers.[18]

His work has been acquired by Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA), the Rhode Island School of Design Museum (Providence, RI), and Wunsch Americana Foundation (New York, NY). In addition to the 2006 Design Triennial at the Cooper-Hewitt, Wiseman's work was exhibited in 2014 at the Bernardaud Foundation in Limoges, France.

More recently, his work was shown at international art and design fairs such as ART021 (Shanghai), Design Miami (Miami and Basel, Switzerland), FOG Art and Design (San Francisco), The Salon Art+Design (New York City), Collective Design Fair (New York City), and Zona Maco (Mexico City), and has been displayed in collaborative exhibitions at Friedman Benda and Gallery Seomi (Seoul).[19]

David Wiseman, Lily of the Valley Mirror and Ceiling for Dior, Installation, 2011, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

David Wiseman, Collage Chandelier for Rhode Island School of Design, 2014, courtesy of Wiseman Studio

Much of Wiseman’s work consists of private commissions for residences across the country and internationally. In 2013, Wiseman's Branch Illuminated Sculpture was chosen for U.S Embassy in Madrid, Spain, by designer Michael S. Smith, as part of the Art in Embassies program.[20] For a wall installation in a private residence from 2010, he worked closely with a family to develop a site-specific installation that referenced their history - a literal family tree represented by blossoming wisteria vines twining around a linden tree, and crowned by a porcelain owl.[2] Wendi Murdoch, a collector of Wiseman’s who commissioned a plaster and porcelain ginkgo motif for her ceiling, said, “David captures nature in the most beautiful and elegant way, using old-world techniques and craftsmanship, but with a modern twist.”[19] In 2010, commissioned by decorator Peter Marino, he created a signature porcelain Lily of the Valley vine installation for Dior flagship stores in New York, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

As a notable alumnus, Wiseman was invited to create a site specific illuminated sculptural installation in the dining room of the President's residence at Rhode Island School of Design and has completed numerous other chandelier installations worldwide.

Parallel Narratives: The Future of Period and Contemporary Design with Eric and Noah Wunsch, Thomas Jayne, Alexandra Gilbert, Rodman Primack, and Mitchell Owens, 2018, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Artist Talk with Tanya Aguiñiga, Michael Maltzan, Adam Silverman, 2018, Rhode Island School of Design, Los Angeles, CA

Artist Talk, 2017, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Decorative Arts and Design Council, Los Angeles, CA

Artist Talk with Brooke Hodge, 16 May 2015, R & Company, New York, NY

Environment to Object, artist talk in conjunction with R & Company @ Hedge, 30 October 2015, San Francisco, CA

… OR MAYBE IT’S THE WEATHER? The Los Angeles Design Movement in 2015, 25 March 2015, LA><ART Keynote Event, Westweek 2015, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA

Artist Talk in conjunction with the Intense & Fragile exhibition, 28 January 2015,Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas

A Conversation with David Wiseman and Douglas Durkin, 15 January 2015, FOG Design+ Art, San Francisco, California

Critical Making: Making Critical Outcomes, with Rosanne Somerson, Tanya Aguiniga, Samantha Dempsey and Shawn Greenlee, 10 October 2014, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

The New Luxury, with Samantha Brooks, Joan Behnke and Grant Kirkpatrick, 10 May2013, La Cienega Design Quarter Legends 2013, Los Angeles, California

The Practice of Patronage, with Zesty Meyers and Dan Rubenstein, 16 April 2013, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York

New West Hollywood Library Artists, with Frances Anderton, Shepard Fairey and RETNA (Marquis Lewis), 18 October 2011, West Hollywood, California

Out There, Doing It lecture series, with Mark McManus and Instant Days (Andrea Lenardin Madden), 5 October 2005, LA Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, Los Angeles, California

Wiseman’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, T Magazine, Architectural Digest, The Financial Times, LA Times, Town and Country, 1st Dibs, Departures magazine, Artsy, the Huffington Post, and The Robb Report among others. Wiseman was also featured in the book Wall Design, published by DAAB Books.

1. David Wiseman (2020), Rizzoli Electa, ISBN 978-0-8478-6490-4
2. Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century (2019), Phaidon Press Limited, ISBN 978-07148-7821-8
3. Toromanoff, Agata. Vases: 250 State-of-the-Art Designs (2019), Thames & Hudson, ISBN 978-0-500-02124-8
4. Peter Marino: Art and Architecture (2016), Phaidon Press Inc., ISBN 978-0714871288
5. David Wiseman (2012), R 20th Century Gallery and Whitehaus Media, ISBN 978-0-9704608-6-8
6. Fragiles: Porcelain, Glass and Ceramics (2008), S. Grill, R. Klanten, S. Ehmann

• David Wiseman's official website