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“I believe if there’s a notion of a safety net in the back of your mind, you wouldn’t genuinely understand that you need to live off your practice.”
DAVID HEO
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In a few words, describe yourself and your practice.
I think the word that describes me best is a “multi-hyphenate.” Aside from just being an artist, my practice extends out to so many other spheres; like public works, design and business. There’s a lot of roles I have to juggle on a daily basis.
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What’s your creative background?
I’m a SAIC (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) “super student”.
I went there for both my undergraduate and graduate. I was the shittiest undergrad student because I had no direction in my life. After graduating, I completely distanced myself from the arts because I believed I wasn’t meant to be an “artist.” I gained some wild life experiences during that time off. Eventually, I came to the realization that I was super unhappy at where I was in my life. Fast forward to 2016, I decided to re-apply to SAIC for grad school because I was finally 500% ready to push myself.
WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF YOU WEREN’T AN ARTIST?
I think I’d be an engineer of some sort. I’ve always had this fantasy of being a bot fighter. I’d love to build a robot that would fight other robots in an arena for money, like contemporary gladiators.
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How have you turned your passion into business?
The honest answer? Desperation. After I finished graduate school, I knew that I wanted “art” to be my only vocation. I didn’t apply for any day jobs because I believe if there’s a notion of a safety net in the back of your mind, you wouldn’t genuinely understand that you need to live off your practice. I’ve been paying my bills with only my art, it became a business because it’s the only source of income for me. It’s not glamorous as people think though, there’s a shit ton of ups and downs with instability.
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What are some challenges you're facing in your practice?
An immediate challenge that comes to mind is surprising myself. With every piece, I always intend to make something that’s exciting for myself. I don’t ever want to make the same thing over and over and over again. Where’s the fun in that? I feel like that’d just make me plateau.
ARE YOU COMFORTABLE SHARING ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR PROCESS?
I never believed in stockpiling secrets when it comes to art. If I can advise or share any knowledge I have, why not? If I can help anyone avoid the troubles I had to go through to learn anything, I’m willing to share that. A rising tide lifts all boats, you know?
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How does where you live affect your work?
Living here for 10 years now, Midwestern kindness and its strong hustle game has definitely affected me as a person. Chicago plays a big factor and has been super influential to how I’ve grown as an artist. For example, the drastic seasons shaped the rhythm of my practice. The fact that winter is like 6 months long here, I realize that’s when I hunker down and solely focus on my work and plan accordingly for any upcoming shows. In the summer, that’s when I do more murals and collaborative projects with people.
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How do you start your process?
It’s very routine based, lowkey, like clockwork: I wake up, shower, get dressed, think about the tasks and goals for the day during my morning cigarette, put on my headphones, listen to a couple of bops as I walk to go get an espresso and a small coffee at Intelligentsia. That’s my strict ritual prior to any studio time.
SHARE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WITH SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BE
A FULL TIME PAINTER?
Quit your day job. If the risks scare you though, your heart isn’t into it.
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Who (or what) inspires you?
The list of artists that inspire me is long as f*ck (laughs) But some examples are: Alex Katz, Mamoru Hosoda, Patrick Nagel, Cy Twombly, Audrey Kawasaki, Robert Nava, etc. And aside from visual artists - Manga, people watching and nightlife are colossal inspirations for me.
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What makes your work unique?
I don’t think there’s anything that makes my work “unique”, to be honest. Really! I’m just a dude that makes art (laughs) But if you ever have an answer to that, do let me know! I’d be curious to hear it.
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What is the most useful tip you’ve ever been given?
“Can you be in your studio, 5 hours a day, 6 days a week?
If not, then being an artist is not for you.”
WHAT’S YOUR WORK ROUTINE?
Aside from my morning ritual, I’ll usually work for about 3-4 hours straight, take a break, get food, then get back into it until I’m tired. Yeah, I’m definitely a routine based person when it comes to my practice. It’s very puritanical compared to how I want to decompress.
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How would your audience describe you?
The word “vibrant” comes up a lot when people write about me. I think that's cool.
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Share one thing that makes you more productive.
Deadlines!
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Name three essential things in your studio.
Music, hot coffee and a good mindset
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What are you currently working on?
I finished a huge body of work for my solo show, “Honey & Smoke” that just opened at Vertical Gallery. I know I’m going to take a little me time to rest up. After that, I’ll get back into it for some upcoming group shows later this year. Also, I think this summer is going to be wild too because I’ll be collaborating with some companies on a couple of very fun projects!
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How has your practice changed over time? Where do you see it going?
I’m blessed because it’s been nice to see how my practice has been growing since I graduated in 2018. I can’t predict where it’ll take me, but for this year I set the goal for myself to shoot as high as I can. So we’ll see how that’s going to pan out throughout the year.
PSSST: David’s solo show “Honey & Smoke” is currently at Vertical Gallery;
remaining work is still available for purchase on their site.
