INTERVIEW
Get to know David Huang
It’s a huge pleasure to welcome London-based artist, David Huang, to the Grand Matter roster!
An artist we got to know well as part of our Future Makers programme, David has been part of our community since 2023. His colourful artworks are full of intrigue and narrative, and bring together personal experiences and the world around him with imaginative compositions and concepts. David is at a particularly exciting time in his work, taking on new challenges and expanding the boundaries of his practice in fresh ways.
To introduce him in our traditional fashion, we spoke to him about the evolution of his illustration practice, the inspirations he's been leaning into and his ambitions to work with apparel.
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I’ve been exploring different forms of storytelling and trying to push the limits of expression within the confines of my own visual world.
– David Huang
If you had to pick only a few words to describe yourself as an artist, what would they be?
Emotional, thoughtful, sentimental, colorful, conversational
We first started working with you in 2023, how would you say your work has evolved over the past few years?
I’m almost 30 now, and while that’s not really a big milestone these days, it’s a nice little checkpoint to reflect on what I’ve done and what I want to do in the future.
I’ve spent the past eight years working in editorial and slowly branching out into other types of work, realizing the potential of my images in different contexts. Now I’m experimenting with even more ways of making and sharing my work—such as creating books, comics, and paintings. Industry-wise, I also want to start collaborating with clients in fields I haven’t touched before, like the fashion or film industries.
In what ways are you experimenting and exploring your practice?
A bit of an extension of the last question, but perhaps more conceptually—I’ve been exploring different forms of storytelling and trying to push the limits of expression within the confines of my own visual world. I’ve recently started treading lightly into learning the art of comics. I’m trying to train different muscles through different forms of illustration. Branding work, murals, books, editorial—they all require a different corner of the brain, or at least it feels that way to me.
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I like listening to crime podcasts or food YouTube vlogs, mostly in Mandarin. It helps me focus when it feels like someone’s talking to me, or having a conversation with me, while I draw.
– David Huang
Which topics and themes tend to run through you work?
My work features a lot of fictional scenes, but they all originate from very non-fictive personal experiences. I draw a lot of inspiration from childhood/teenage/past memories, and for some reason, that seems to be an infinite spring of ideas that just keeps flowing. I also make work based on recent experiences. For example, I recently went to a Totoro play in London and thought about making an illustration of people acting on stage. I was also really in awe of the set designs and the different objects used in the play—I’d love to create things like that in the future.
What do you like to listen to while you work?
I listen to NTS shows a lot—mostly because I know a few DJs on there and have taken on art direction roles for their events and record covers.
Other than that, I like listening to crime podcasts or food YouTube vlogs, mostly in Mandarin. It helps me focus when it feels like someone’s talking to me or having a conversation with me while I draw.
Credit
And finally, do you have any dream commissions?
I’ve already worked with so many amazing people, so this one is hard to answer. I think I’d like to keep creating work in industries I care about—like labels or menus for food and restaurants, as well as branding for festivals and music-related projects. I’d also love to start dabbling in the fashion industry—maybe working on jobs for shoes or accessories.
About David Huang
David creates colourful hand-drawn artworks full of intrigue and narrative. Growing up in Taipei, David now spends most of his time in London, New York and the Bay Area. His work suits many contexts and scales, from editorial, packaging and branding, to large scale installation and moving image.
London
Somerset House
West Wing M19, Strand
London, WC2R 1LA
+44(0)2033 322 582
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New York
The Yard , South Williamsburg
195 Broadway, 4th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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