Dave White is a contemporary British artist whose work explores powerful emotional and environmental themes. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art (Painting) from Liverpool John Moores University and achieved early recognition through selection for the prestigious Northern Graduates Exhibition at the Royal College of Art.
Widely recognised as the pioneer of the “Sneaker Art” movement, White began creating his iconic pop-art-inspired sneaker oil paintings in 2002. This led to longstanding collaborations with Nike and Jordan Brand, making him one of a select group of artists to receive his own signature Jordan releases. White later collaborated with Size? x Nike on the internationally acclaimed AM95 DW project, featuring the Rabbit and Fox artworks from his celebrated Albion Collection.
The project was featured in Tongue + Chic, Phillips New York’s landmark sneaker exhibition, alongside works by leading contemporary artists including KAWS, Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. The exhibition subsequently travelled to Phillips Hong Kong and Shanghai at K11. White’s collaborations were also featured by curator Elizabeth Semmelhack in the Rizzoli publication Sneakers x Culture, while his Jordan I designs were included in the Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
Beyond sneaker culture, White has continued to merge art with conservation and philanthropy. His Sea Turtle sculpture, created for Tusk, was displayed in London’s Piccadilly Circus before being auctioned in support of the charity. Similarly, his Rhino for the charity was installed on New Bond Street and auctioned at Christies. More recently, White was appointed Artist in Residence at the esteemed Hamilton Princess Hotel in Bermuda, where he undertook research for his latest body of work, Oceanic.
International exhibition highlights include the People’s Square Exhibition Hall (Shanghai), Dia Art Centre (New York), The Walker Art Gallery (Liverpool), Art Basel Week (Miami), the Centre for Contemporary Art (Rotterdam), Liverpool Biennial, New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York) for The Project on Creativity with Chuck Close, a residency at the Goss-Michael Foundation (Dallas) for MTV RE:DEFINE, and major installations for Tusk and WWF in London and Singapore. White has presented solo exhibitions in London, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Tokyo, Miami and Los Angeles.
Although his practice has explored a variety of subjects throughout his career, for more than two decades White has remained deeply committed to raising awareness of environmental issues through his signature expressive portraits of endangered species. He continues to support international charities through special projects, exhibitions and charitable auctions.
