David Nittmann
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1944, Schenectady, New York
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
ARTscottsdale, WestWorld, Art & Antiques, Scottsdale, AZ
2005 A Nation of Enchanted Form, AAW & Messler Gallery, Rockport, ME
Smithsonian Craft Show, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington, DC
2004-05, 07 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Beneath the Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum,
Provo, UT
Nature Transformed, Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
From Sea to Odyssey, AAW Show
The Philadelphia Museum of Art Show, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
New Hampshire Institute of Art Contemporary Basket Show, New Hampshire
Institute for the Arts, Hudson, NH
2003-07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003-06 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
American Craft Council, Baltimore, MD
2003 Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, American Association of
Woodturners, Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA
Traditional Craft-Contemporary Art Show, New Hampshire Institute of Art
and Northeast Basketmakers Guild, Manchester, NH
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
Smithsonian Craft Show, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington, DC
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2006 500 Baskets, Lark Books, 419pgs
The Cultural Times, Profile, June Vol.II, No.7, Pg12-13
Woodturning Magazine, July, No164, Pg15
American Woodturner, fall, Vol 21, No3, Pg 24
2005 Woodturning Magazine, Nov, No155, Pg 21
The Crafts Report, November, Vol. 31, No.355, Pg49
Chicago Tribune Sunday Home & Garden, Profile, Aug 21, Pg8
Woodturning Magazine, Profile, August, No.152, Pg48
Woodturning Magazine, January, No.144, Pg13
Woodturning Magazine, July, No151, Pg42
2004 Woodturning Magazine, June, No.137, Pg74
American Woodturner, fall, Vol.19, No.3, Pg 37
Woodworker West, November-December, Pg 14
Southwest Art Magazine, Profile, May, Pg120
400 Wood boxes: The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment, Lark Books
500 Wood Bowls: Bold & Original Designs Blending Tradition & Innovation, Lark Books
Nature Transformed, Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, Hudson Hills Press
2003 Woodturning Magazine, January, No. 119, Pg. 42
Profile, Steve Sinner, Woodturning Magazine, July, front cover
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I was playing with wood in my Grandfather's shop as early as I can remember, and my first paid job was "sweeper" at Peters' Wooden Toy Factory. After 2 years at the University of Colorado, and 3 years in the United States Army, I enrolled at Colorado State University, receiving a B.S. with honors in Wildlife Biology and a M.S. in Watershed Science. These degrees didn't keep me out of the woods. I was employed in industrial, commercial, and residential construction before starting my own cabinet and furniture shop in 1980. Chair making and repair led me to the lathe; obsession followed. In 1994 I co-founded the Rocky Mountain Woodturners, in Fort Collins, Colorado, and served as president for the first three years. I continue to support the club as program director. I am also a member of the Front Range Woodeturners in Denver, Colorado, the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), the Woodturning Center, the Collectors of Wood Art, and the International Wood Collectors Society. I am a part-time faculty member of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the John C Cambell Folk School, Brasstown, North Carolina.
My signature work is the "basket illusion." Using rare non-figured woods, I turn, burn, and dye to create the visual and tactile impression of a woven form. A subset of this work is the bodydrum, a decorative functional instrument.
My work is in many private collections and museums. I am represented by Fine Art Galleries throughout the United States.
Wood consumes my Being
I surround myself, big pieces, little pieces, chips, and dust
Wood is magic, beautiful, playful, familiar and strange
I cut through the bark to let the magic out
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
ARTscottsdale, WestWorld, Art & Antiques, Scottsdale, AZ
2005 A Nation of Enchanted Form, AAW & Messler Gallery, Rockport, ME
Smithsonian Craft Show, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington, DC
2004-05, 07 Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Beneath the Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum,
Provo, UT
Nature Transformed, Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
From Sea to Odyssey, AAW Show
The Philadelphia Museum of Art Show, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
New Hampshire Institute of Art Contemporary Basket Show, New Hampshire
Institute for the Arts, Hudson, NH
2003-07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003-06 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
American Craft Council, Baltimore, MD
2003 Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, American Association of
Woodturners, Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA
Traditional Craft-Contemporary Art Show, New Hampshire Institute of Art
and Northeast Basketmakers Guild, Manchester, NH
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
Smithsonian Craft Show, Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington, DC
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2006 500 Baskets, Lark Books, 419pgs
The Cultural Times, Profile, June Vol.II, No.7, Pg12-13
Woodturning Magazine, July, No164, Pg15
American Woodturner, fall, Vol 21, No3, Pg 24
2005 Woodturning Magazine, Nov, No155, Pg 21
The Crafts Report, November, Vol. 31, No.355, Pg49
Chicago Tribune Sunday Home & Garden, Profile, Aug 21, Pg8
Woodturning Magazine, Profile, August, No.152, Pg48
Woodturning Magazine, January, No.144, Pg13
Woodturning Magazine, July, No151, Pg42
2004 Woodturning Magazine, June, No.137, Pg74
American Woodturner, fall, Vol.19, No.3, Pg 37
Woodworker West, November-December, Pg 14
Southwest Art Magazine, Profile, May, Pg120
400 Wood boxes: The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment, Lark Books
500 Wood Bowls: Bold & Original Designs Blending Tradition & Innovation, Lark Books
Nature Transformed, Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, Hudson Hills Press
2003 Woodturning Magazine, January, No. 119, Pg. 42
Profile, Steve Sinner, Woodturning Magazine, July, front cover
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I was playing with wood in my Grandfather's shop as early as I can remember, and my first paid job was "sweeper" at Peters' Wooden Toy Factory. After 2 years at the University of Colorado, and 3 years in the United States Army, I enrolled at Colorado State University, receiving a B.S. with honors in Wildlife Biology and a M.S. in Watershed Science. These degrees didn't keep me out of the woods. I was employed in industrial, commercial, and residential construction before starting my own cabinet and furniture shop in 1980. Chair making and repair led me to the lathe; obsession followed. In 1994 I co-founded the Rocky Mountain Woodturners, in Fort Collins, Colorado, and served as president for the first three years. I continue to support the club as program director. I am also a member of the Front Range Woodeturners in Denver, Colorado, the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), the Woodturning Center, the Collectors of Wood Art, and the International Wood Collectors Society. I am a part-time faculty member of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the John C Cambell Folk School, Brasstown, North Carolina.
My signature work is the "basket illusion." Using rare non-figured woods, I turn, burn, and dye to create the visual and tactile impression of a woven form. A subset of this work is the bodydrum, a decorative functional instrument.
My work is in many private collections and museums. I am represented by Fine Art Galleries throughout the United States.
Wood consumes my Being
I surround myself, big pieces, little pieces, chips, and dust
Wood is magic, beautiful, playful, familiar and strange
I cut through the bark to let the magic out