Dietmar Wiening (German/South African, b. 1943), Mako Shark

Late 20th-early 21st century, bronze with an enhanced dark verdigris patina, impressed artist stamp and numbered "90.22.904" to the underside, a striking naturalistic casting of the speedy pelagic species with mouth open, steel rod mounted atop a travertine base with artist plaque.

19 x 41 x 19 in.

Private Collection, Charleston, South Carolina

Born in 1943 in Chemnitz, Germany, Dietmar immigrated to South Africa in 1964. Trained as a professional chef, he spent 35 years working in four and five-star hotels in Europe, the Indian Ocean Islands, and South Africa. During the first two years of operation, Dietmar introduced ice carvings and butter sculptures to the hotel buffets. His interest in capturing wildlife in three dimensional forms lead to a shift in his career towards sculpture the 1990s. His work is very distinctive - he has perfected the art of form simplification in his work, reducing his subject matter to essentials while retaining its character. These are not the dull repetitions so often seen but vibrant statements that have a life of their own - some pensive, some cheeky, others arrogant or combined in collective compositions and all having an intrinsic sculptural value that surpasses the mere illustrative solution.

Dietmar built his own foundry and proudly casts all of his work himself. Using a new, highly effective ceramic shell technology, Dietmar's bronzes are cast using the lost wax method and can easily be identified by his eye-catching mounting techniques and enhancing patinas which imbue his works with life and color.

Stone base with crack and repair and some chipping, else good estate condition.