David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, R & Company. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.

R & Company’s current exhibition, David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, is more than a visually stunning presentation -- it is a deeply profound experience. Evan Snyderman, who founded the New York-based gallery alongside Zesty Meyers in 1997, says, “people have been brought to tears by how beautiful this installation is.”

David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, R & Company. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.

The show, which is R & Company’s second solo exhibition of works by the Los Angeles-based designer, features new designs and architectural installations that explore and celebrate Wiseman’s reverence for nature, decorative arts history, and, above all, beauty. InCollect founder, John Smiroldo, visited the gallery shortly after the show opened on May 11 and was absolutely floored. “I don’t typically write unless something really strikes me as incredibly special and unique,” says Smiroldo. “David Wiseman embraces both ornamentation and the environment in a truly unique way that resonates with one’s soul.”

R & Company has been working with Wiseman for nearly eight years, a partnership that began after Snyderman saw Wiseman’s work featured at the 2006 Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial. “One of the things that draws you into David’s works, which happens across the board, whether you’re seeing it for the first time of you’re a collector of his work, is that the work itself is so inherently beautiful and tactile that you’re drawn into this sort of fantasy that it creates,” says Snyderman. After a phone call and a visit to Wiseman’s California studio, which Snyderman describes as a beehive of activity, the collaboration took off. “I basically just told David that we wanted to work with him and that was it. It has kind of gone crazy since then. From that moment David has really pushed himself to new levels,” says Snyderman.

David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, R & Company. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.

One aspect that makes Wiseman’s work incredibly unique is his remarkably hands on approach to the creation process. “His studio is set up like a traditional atelier,” says Snyderman. “There’s a ceramics department, a metal casting department, a finishing area. This affords him the ability to not just work at a faster pace, but it allows him to experiment and try new things.” The intensity behind Wiseman’s process is apparent in every piece he creates. Snyderman says, “Every object is unique, which sets him apart from what you consider a designer. He’s an artist and he creates works in a manner of the finest decorative artists dating back centuries.” Smiroldo adds, “Having had the privilege of meeting the artist, I found a man who was both genuine and passionate about his work. He combines history and nature with artistic talent and technical skill with the end result being refreshingly unique and powerful.”

David Wiseman in his Los Angeles studio. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.

While the process is critical, Wiseman’s work goes much further than that. Fascinated by nature, patterns from different cultures, and the history of decorative arts, Wiseman turns the notion that beautiful is boring on its head. Snyderman says, “He’s not afraid to make things that are beautiful, which a lot of people are afraid to do. They feel it’s contrite, but David takes this aspect and explodes it.” Wiseman’s finely detailed works capture the fleeting beauty of the natural world and put a fresh, modern spin on traditional ornamentation. “In a way,” says Snyderman, “it sort of fits in perfectly with what’s happening in contemporary design. There is a lot of crossover between old and new, modern and historic, decoration and minimalism. David’s work is a mash up between all of these worlds.”

David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, R & Company. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.

The show at R & Company has been about two years in the making. Wiseman, who creates site-specific installations for public institutions, international brands, and private collections, had to stop taking commissions for six months in order to create works for Wilderness and Ornament. Snyderman says, “We wanted to create something totally new. David’s last show with us was a huge success. So how do you top that?”

 The result is a wondrous, all-consuming environment that showcases the grandest possibility of what Wiseman is capable of creating. Inspired by Gesamtkunstwerk, a German term used to describe an environment that is designed in totality by one architect, Wiseman transformed the gallery  into a full-room installation featuring sculptural chandeliers and paneled walls infused with opulent decorative motifs. Snyderman says, “There are twelve unique panels, which are plaster on aluminum backed by wood. It’s designed like a traditional paneled room...and within this room, [David] takes you on a journey through the history of patterning from around the world...you see patterns from Islamic cultures, Japan, China, Nepal, Viennese Secessionism, India, all mashed together to create one environment. But David never draws directly from history. He’s inspired by it and he uses it to create his own, new history.” Snyderman adds, ”I hope that people realize that we are at a very important moment in the world of design, decorative arts and contemporary art. David is pulling together these three worlds and I believe that he has reached a level of some of the greatest decorative artists in history...It’s really that powerful.”

David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, R & Company. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.
David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament, R & Company. Image courtesy of Joe Kramm/R & Company.

David Wiseman: Wilderness and Ornament will remain on view at R & Company through June 25, 2015.