David Choe

Early life and education

Choe was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents are Korean immigrants and born-again Christians. He spent his childhood in Koreatown, Los Angeles. He has been spray-painting on the streets since he was in his teens. He briefly attended the California College of the Arts.

Career

In 1996, Choe self-published a graphic novel, Slow Jams. In 1999, he submitted Slow Jams for the Xeric Grant and was awarded $5,000 to self-publish a second, expanded edition of 1,000, which came out in 1999.

In 2005, internet entrepreneur Sean Parker, a longtime fan, asked him to paint graphic sexual murals in the interior of Facebook's first Silicon Valley office, and in 2007, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg commissioned him to paint somewhat tamer murals for its next office. Although he thought the Facebook business model was "ridiculous and pointless", Choe chose to receive company stock in lieu of cash payment for his original murals. His shares were valued at approximately $200 million on the eve of Facebook's 2012 IPO.

After holding several solo shows in San Jose and San Francisco, Choe was offered a solo exhibit at the Santa Rosa Museum of Contemporary Art in 2005. He held his first New York solo exhibit, "Gardeners of Eden", in 2007 at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Chelsea. In 2008, he had his first UK solo exhibition, "Murderous Heart", in Lazarides Gallery's London and Newcastle locations simultaneously.

In 2008, Choe and Harry Kim made an autobiographical documentary, Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe.

Vice

After being approached for his artwork by Gavin McInnes and Shane Smith, Choe was recruited to write and do artwork for Vice magazine.

Choe and Harry Kim starred in the Vice-produced web series Thumbs Up!, which ran for three seasons. The series documents Choe and Kim hitchhiking and freight-hopping from Los Angeles to Miami (season 1) and Tijuana to Alaska (season 2). In Season 3 they hitch across China from Beijing to Shenzhen and Macau. A fourth "season", in which Choe and Kim travel from San Francisco to New York, was released via short-form video clips on Snapchat and Instagram.

2013–present

In 2013, Choe and adult film star Asa Akira began hosting DVDASA, an online lifestyle and entertainment podcast.

Also in 2013, Choe had a solo exhibition of his watercolors at the Museo Universario del Chopo, Mexico City.

After receiving extensive therapy and treatment, Choe reemerged in 2017 with a new body of work and an exhibition in Los Angeles that had themes of trauma, self-reflection, and hope for recovery.

In 2023, Choe starred as Isaac Cho in the Netflix drama-comedy miniseries Beef. He also painted the title cards for episodes 2 through 10.

Charitable works

Since 2008, Choe has dedicated many of his works to charity and collaborated with foundations to support their causes, including fundraising for Haiti with Yle Haiti, a foundation founded by Wyclef Jean; painting with the children of The LIDÈ Haiti Foundation; and painting with children of South Central LA at APCH.

Controversy

In March 2014, Choe said on DVDASA that he had engaged in "rapey behavior" with a masseuse. He defended his comment by saying that the podcast is essentially fictional. After he was commissioned to paint the Bowery Mural Wall in 2017, other artists protested, including street artist Swoon, who issued a statement against his inclusion in the mural project. Artist Jasmine Wahi, co-organized a performance in front of the mural, saying, "Our aim is to provoke widespread rejection of the continued normalization of rape culture by bringing visibility to the topic." The mural was quickly defaced by graffiti. Choe responded by again publicly denying any history of sexual assault or rape and apologizing for his original comments. The comments resurfaced in April 2023 after the success of the Netflix drama-comedy miniseries Beef.

Legal issue

In the early 2000s, Choe was reportedly arrested in Japan, where he was taking part in an art show, after an altercation with a police officer. Various sources cite the year as 2003 or 2005 and say he spent two or three months in prison.

Filmography

Film

Television

Short film

Web series

Music video

Bibliography

References

References

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6. "Xeric Foundation Comic Book Self-Publishing Grants for 1999".
7. Daniel Chen, "[http://www.thecitrusreport.com/2009/features/david-choe/ David Choe] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-06-22," ''The Citrus Report'', 6/7/09.)
8. Denton, Nick. (Dec 13, 2006). "Office decorator encouraged to draw 'cocks'". Gawker.
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10. Bilton, Nick. (Jan 1, 2012). "For Founders to Decorators, Facebook Riches". The New York Times.
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13. Teh, Terence. (March 2008). "David Choe in the U.K.". Dazed Digital.
14. Choe, David. (2010). "David Choe". Chronicle Books.
15. (17 February 2017). "Thumbs Up!".
16. Choe, David. (May 2010). "The David Choe Special Issue". Juxtapoz.
17. Loyola, Bernardo. (August 2013). "David Choe's Mexico City Gallery Show Features Naked Girls and Visions of Ayahuasca". VICE.
18. "David Choe "SNOWMAN MONKEY BBQ" @ Museo Universitario del Chopo, Mexico City".
19. "David Choe on His Mexico City Show and Life as a Global Street Artist - BLOUIN ARTINFO".
20. Calderón, Trina. (1 August 2017). "David Choe's Secretive Koreatown Art Show Is Making People Feel a Lot of Things".
21. Carpou, Madeline. (2023-04-11). "What's Up With the Title Art in 'Beef'?".
22. (28 January 2010). "Haitian Girl - David Choe".
23. Recinos, Eva. (22 February 2013). "David Choe, Famed Artist of Facebook Headquarters, Helps Kids Paint a Mural in South L.A.".
24. Ali Vingiano and Tasneem Nashrulla, "[https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonvingiano/celebrity-graffiti-artist-david-choe-says-admission-of-rapey Celebrity Graffiti Artist David Choe Doesn't Think He Actually Raped Anyone]," "BuzzFeed", 04/18/2014
25. (2017-06-16). "David Choe's Bowery Mural Targeted in Protest Against Rape Culture".
26. (2017-06-17). "Artist David Choe Apologizes for Statements About Rape and Says Story Was Fictional".
27. (2017-06-08). "How the New Bowery Wall Commission Puts Rape Culture on Display".
28. (2017-06-12). "David Choe's Controversial Bowery Mural Tagged with Giant Letters [UPDATED]".
29. (14 April 2023). "'Beef' star David Choe slammed after podcast detailing 'rapey behavior' resurfaces".
30. Bruce-Smith, Alex. (17 April 2023). "What To Know About The Alleged Rape Controversy Around 'Beef' Star David Choe".
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32. Silvoy, Sandra. (Feb 15, 2010). "David Choe: From Japanese Prison to the White House".
33. Judkis, Maura. (Feb 2, 2012). "Facebook IPO: 5 things you should know about David Choe, insta-millionaire artist". The Washington Post.
34. Page, Samantha. (2010-04-22). "Artist's trip from jail to Beverly Hills show".