David Erdman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in a creative environment of art and building things (father owned paint & hardware company). Growing up on Pewaukee Lake he spent his formative years on the water, building and sailing watercraft of all sorts. David was introduced to Sculpture at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and after graduation went onto study Architecture at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  He then returned to Milwaukee and worked for Collings Engineering and Stevens Construction.

Erdman became a major figure in the marine industry, a career and lifestyle spanning 40+ years. This experience has greatly influenced his artwork. His wood sculptures often embody the energy, fluidity, and curvature of sailing vessels. 

Erdman's award-winning sculptures are represented by Reinert Fine Art (South Carolina), Artist Design Consultants (Cincinnati), MARA Gallery + Studio (Sarasota FL) and Leslie Curran Gallery (St Petersburg, FL). The artist maintains an active studio on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where the wind and water inspire and energize him daily.

 

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Erdman's sculptures of luxurious wood, informed by studies in architecture and boat building, evoke the elegantly flowing lines of a sailing vessel on the water. His hand carved sculptures are often culled from deep forest scavenging at his family's rural homestead. These gathering trips are an important part of the healthy life cycle of the land, and his artwork memorializes these fallen treasured trees. Yet his process of carving brings new form to the object, a resurrection of sorts, transforming it from a heavy, solid mass into a study in light, air and movement.

Significance is placed on the object itself as well as the tension in the air surrounding it, as one would view a sail in the breeze.
 
Erdman embraces the significance of the natural environment and the promise of renewal, emphasizing his reverence and awe for the sea on which he sails and the land in which he chooses to live and and make art. 

Torso (Xina)
Rosewood handwax light side poly gloss other
36 x 12 x 24"
Contact gallery for purchasing inquiries.
Reach
banyan wood with hand paste-wax finish
45 x 21 x 11"
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Venus
American cherry wood with hi-gloss polyurethane finish
24 x 11 x 41"
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Ghost Ship
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