About me
David began his university studies in Architecture but eventually graduated in Fine Arts specializing in Design. Since then he has worked in the world of design and advertising in which in addition to working as a freelance illustrator he has worked as both Art Director and Creative Director at several digital advertising agencies.
He has worked for prestigious magazines such as Time, The New Yorker, ESPN magazine, The Washington Post, Car & Driver, Harper’s Bazar, Sports Illustrated, GQ, Billboard, Elle, Rob Report, The Observer, Le Monde, L’Equipe, L’Express, Le Parisien, Madame Figaro, Procycling, Eme21magazine, ABC and additionally for clients such as Porsche, Kinder, Burton, DC comics, Warner Bros, Paramount, Circo du Solei, Coty France, Coca Cola, Estrella Damm, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Abanca, F1 to name a few.
He was recently recognized by the prestigious Taschen publication ‘100 Illustrators’ as one of the most influential international illustrators of the last decade and his work has also been published in books such as ‘Illustration Now’ (Taschen) for which he illustrated the cover of the third edition of the series, ‘The New Age of Feminine Drawing’ (Allrightreserved), ‘Illusive 3’ (Gestalten), ‘200 Best illustrators’ (Luezers), ‘Portraits’ (Taschen), to name just a few.
«David Despau creates exquisite portraits, elegant whilst maintaining a modesty in which the illusionist like precision and close to ‘photographic’ quality highlights the personality of those portrayed. The contemporary quality of his work is based in the infinite details counterbalanced with vacant space, so that what is carefully excluded says as much as that which is so precisely included.« Steven Heller
Photos: Leticia Hueda
Agencies.
FRED & FARID, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sra. Rushmore, Proximity, MC Saatchi Germany, McCann, Shackleton, Publicis, BBDO, FUEGO CAMINA CONMIGO, Heureka, Havas, Trailer Park.
Brands.
DC comics, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Kinder, Porsche, Burton, Coca Cola, CBS Sports, NFL, Coty France, Circo du Solei, Vodafone, Playboy, Etnia Barcelona, Estrella Damm, Bosch, Volkswagen, Ubisoft, Ron Barceló, Cerveza Magna, Cabreiroá, F1, Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Euskotren, Abanca, Renault.
Magazines.
Time, The New Yorker, ESPN magazine, Car and Driver, Harper’s Bazar, Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, GQ, Elle, Billboard, Procycling, Manager Magazine, Der Spiegel, Die Weltwoche, Le Monde, LÈquipe, Gala Men, Le Parisien, LÈxpress, Madame Figaro, Robb Report, The Observer, 11 Freunde, Arise, Berkeley, Yorokobu, Eme21magazine, ABC, Cycling Plus, Cycle World, Mondo Sonoro, El Duende, Garden Design.
Exhibitions.
· 2010. “75th Aniversario DC Comics”. Palais de Tokio. Paris
· 2012. “Darkness and light”. Headquarters of Dc Comics y Warner Bros. Burbank, California
· 2013. “The Directors Cut”. Watt Space Gallery. Newcastle, Australia
· 2014. “Tres de cien”. Ministerio de asuntos importantes: Madrid
· 2014. “Art Friday”. Madrid
· 2016. “Pepita Lumier”. Valencia
· 2018. “Callao City Lights”. Madrid
· 2021. “Skyline Film Festival»”. Benidorm
· 2023. “Big Mural”. Permanent murals at NFL SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles
· 2024. “Legends”. Permanent murals at Headquarters of CBS Sports. New York