David Istvan (*Cluj-Napoca, 17.07.1982), born in Romania, of Hungarian origin, received his MFA from the Art and Design University of Cluj-Napoca; department of Painting.
After exploring into drawing, painting and stencils he devoted himself to digital medium and discovered a new and influential tool, the illustration. In 2010, in Ljubljana, he began a three-year co-operation with the cult Slovene magazine Tribuna, where his socially-responsible, philosophical, political and provocative illustrations and graphic works found their proper place.
During the time of this co-operation, Tribuna received 5 awards for the visual image, amongst others in 2010 he also received the Silver Bra for the artist’s Pavlov Dogs animation, at the Magdalena festival in Maribor.
Also received a Certificate of Typographic excellence for being part of the Annual Type Directors Club Exhibition for 2014 with Tribuna Newspaper from TDC (Type Directors Club) New York.
His illustrations were represented at Moderna Galerija (Museum of Modern Art) ,Ljubljana in 2015, within the “Tribuna; a nice newspaper” exhibition and the exhibition “Newspapers are Dead, Long Live Newspapers! Tribuna 2009-2013” (Novine su mrtve, živele novine!” Tribuna 2009-2013) at the G 12 HUB gallery in Belgrade in 2013 as well as in 2011 at the 5th Biennial of Slovene visual communications.
Other important co-operations include the magazines Emzin and Razpotja, the newspaper supplement Objektiv and the publishing house Mladinska knjiga.
Since 2017 he started to collaborate with political magazine Roar from Netherlands.
In his attempt to connect his artwork with gallery spaces, he has discovered infinite creative possibilities to experiment in the collage technique and continues to explore the painting, drawing and print mediums.
In the last five years he took part in three solo exhibitions at the Alkatraz Gallery, Ljubljana; the Centre for Sonoric Arts at Vodnikova domačija, Ljubljana (together with Colin Black); the Gallery Stolpa Škrlovec, Kranj, as well as numerous group exhibitions e.g. Art Metropolis art fair at Kibla Portal, Maribor; the International Comics festival, Belgrade; the Ernst Hilger Gallery, Vienna; Anaid Gallery, Bucareste, the Ptuj Ormož Regional Museum; K. O. K. E. M. Contemporary Art Museum and Gallery, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania; H’art Gallery, Bucharest … )
He is represented by Umer Artist Agency for illustration in Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Croatia.
davidistvan.com
Projects
- Editorial portraits- CeltraThis project was commissioned by multinational company Celtra for their year book released in 2015 and it includes portraits of their 130 employees. All the portraits had to be made with a chaotic line drawing and colored in 5 different chromatic groups. Art director: Ajda Rotar Urankar.
+ View all
Work history
Illustrator
Amsterdam, NetherlandsFreelance
ROAR is an independent journal of the radical imagination providing grassroots perspectives from the front-lines of the global struggle for real democracy.
illustratorUmer Artists Agency
Ljubljana, SloveniaFreelance
The Umer Artists Agency represents gifted authors and artists of different styles and approaches at what they do best. Our wide array of talent allows us to deliver outstanding tailored solutions in advertising, publishing and design.
Our primary task is to find the most suitable creative person and seamlessly integrate their talents into your project or team, while managing timeframe and budget concerns hands-on. We believe in a two pronged approach and thus we encourage all our clients to establish direct communication with our authors and artists to ensure optimal end results.
Our goal is to ensure real choice of talent, this is why we are always on the look-out for gifted individuals who stand out.
+ Show more
Skills
- 5. Illustration
- Analogue Drawing
- Painting
- Typography
Education
M.f.a Painting
- Cluj-Napoca, Romania
MFA from the Art and Design University of Cluj-Napoca; department of Painting.
Awards
Certificate of Typographic excellence
Certificate of Typographic excellence for being part of the Annual Type Directors Club Exhibition for 2014 with Tribuna Newspaper from TDC (Type Directors Club) New York.
Special mention
In 2013 Tribuna Newspaper won a special mention award for the newspapers and magazines category at the 6th Biennial of the Slovene Visual Communications.
+ Show more