Dave Buonaguidi: In Focus

Scroll through our online gallery and you’ll quickly spot the unmistakable work of Dave Buonaguidi, vibrant, text-driven screenprints that demand your attention. Known for combining punchy, provocative phrases with vintage materials, Dave’s work is impossible to ignore and even harder to forget.

Often affectionately referred to as The Real Hackney Dave, Buonaguidi spent over 35 years working in the advertising world, co-founding groundbreaking agencies like St. Luke’s and Karmarama and serving as Creative Director at Channel 4. But in 2014, during what he calls a “gardening leave” year, everything changed. He enrolled in a screen printing workshop at Print Club London in Hackney, and a new path opened up.

Since then, Dave has carved out a niche that blends the power of advertising with the authenticity of handmade art. His prints combine bold, often fluorescent type with found materials like vintage maps, love letters, blueprints, copper plates, and more. Every piece is unique, layered with history and loaded with attitude.

Now based in Hackney Wick, Dave works alongside long-time collaborator Ricky Byrne, continuing to explore new ways of making art that’s both playful and provocative. His pieces are influenced by pop artists like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, and often carry echoes of the punk visual language pioneered by Jamie Reid. Whether he’s using glitter, diamond dust, gold leaf, or even pheromones, there’s always an element of surprise.

What sets Dave apart is how he communicates. Each work feels like a headline or a protest sign, emotionally direct, sharply funny, and instantly resonant. From “MAKE TEA NOT WAR” (a poster originally created for the 2003 anti-war protests and now in the collections of the V&A and Trento Museum of Modern Art) to irreverent phrases printed across nostalgic materials, his work speaks plainly and powerfully. It’s no surprise that collectors like Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Kate Moss, and Henry Golding have taken notice.

Dave’s art is rooted in East London, and he has a deep connection to the studios in Hackney where he first learned to print. Our gallery holds a full archive of his work, a collection that captures the breadth of his creativity and his evolution as an artist.

Many of these works are not listed online, so if you’re looking for something specific, or want to see what’s new, we encourage you to get in touch directly.

Shop the collection here