Dave Buonaguidi British, b. 1964

Dave Buonaguidi’s work sits at the intersection of art, advertising, and attitude. Based in East London and widely known as The Real Hackney Dave, he creates bold, irreverent screenprints that fuse provocative text with found imagery. Think vintage maps and copper plates to blueprints, love letters, and other fragments of the past. Each piece is handmade and layered with wit, nostalgia, and an unmistakable edge. Agony + Ecstasy Gallery has previously exhibited his work, celebrating Buonaguidi’s singular blend of humour, subversion, and pop-cultural commentary.

After more than three decades in advertising (co-founding the influential agencies St. Luke’s and Karmarama), Buonaguidi turned to screen printing. His pieces often feature assertive typography overlaid onto objects of the past, creating tension between word and image, sincerity and satire. Buonaguidi’s work explores the language of persuasion, recontextualising it with irony and emotion. His now-iconic MAKE TEA NOT WAR poster, created in 2003 for anti-war protests, is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Trento Museum of Modern Art.