DAVID’S ACHIEVEMENTS

David at just two years old, helping his father put the finishing touches on one of his paintings. This image was captured after pro walked into his studio and discovered David hard at work on an artwork he had left on his easel.

David has his first gallery representation at Ant Hill Gallery, Broken Hill, NSW. This marked the beginning of David’s first art sales and the beginning of his career as a visual artist.

David marries Christine on Australia Day.  Pictured with their parents, Pro and Raylee Hart and Ron and Ruth Hunt.

David begins painting from his kitchen table in their first home. His first studio consisted of a 400 x 1200mm piece plywood board to paint on, a box of gouache paints, some brushes, a plastic pallet, a glass jar, and an old lamp. He painted at his kitchen table for around 3 – 4 years.

David and his wife Christine open their first commercial art gallery called Hart Family Collection.

David starts having mobile exhibitions in regional cities and towns around NSW, Vic and SA.

To supplement his income as an emerging artist, David was a picture framer, mainly for his father’s works, and this is his first picture framing workshop set up in his garage in Broken Hill.

This was the turning point for David, where he said goodbye to his parents and moved his young family from Broken Hill to Brisbane.

David and Christine organise an exhibition to raise money for charity.  It was officially opened by Wally Lewis (legendary NRL player known as King Wally).

David builds his first home, art gallery and studio, in Albany Creek, Brisbane.

David begins holding annual exhibitions with Sheraton and Hilton hotels in Brisbane. Even the Lord Earl Spencer added one of David’s paintings to his collection (pictured with Pro & Raylee Hart).

The Brisbane Lord Mayor commissioned David to paint a series of city street scenes as gifts for Japanese diplomats.

Motorline BMW Brisbane commissioned David to paint a 4m x 2m flower mural, which led to his appointment as an ambassador for Motorline BMW.

David has his first solo exhibition in Queensland at Pages Fine Art Gallery in Noosa. This exhibition was also filmed by ABC TV and featured on “The Australian Story”.

Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) televised a documentary on the life of David Hart as part of the highly acclaimed “The Australian Story” series. The program was aired nation-wide and internationally.

Queensland Paralympic Association commissioned David to paint the Opening Ceremony that was held at the Homebush Olympic Stadium. Titled “Share the Dream”, this painting was reproduced in 250 limited edition prints. These sold out within three months and raised over AUD$50,000 as part of a major fundraising project. One print sold at auction for AUD$2,500.

David moved his studio gallery from Albany Creek, Brisbane to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. In the first year of opening the gallery, David’s popularity saw so many sales that his prices had to be increased every couple of months to help slow down the demand on his work.

David had a solo exhibition at his gallery in Mooloolaba, and had people lined up to buy his paintings; 80% of the exhibition sold on opening night and more than ten works were also commissioned that night.

David opened a second David Hart Galleries location in Hastings Street, Noosa.

David was chosen to represent Australia and joined a group of artists chosen from the world art community to exhibit at the Florence Biennale. The Biennale is one of the art world’s most prestigious events. Participation is by nomination only, and artworks are then considered by an international jury before final approval to exhibit is granted.

After a trip to New York, David received a personal letter from Donald Trump telling David that the latest artwork he had just added to his collection was beautiful. David was also approached by five different galleries throughout the United States of America wanting to represent his work.

David wrote the most extensive biography ever published about his esteemed father, the internationally acclaimed artist Pro Hart. The biography, titled “Pro Hart Dying to be Heard” was a story of his life of success, betrayal, tragedy and was released by Art House Press in 2007. It enjoyed widespread distribution across bookstores throughout Australia and ranked among the top 10 bestsellers at Koorong Bookstores.

Due to its immense success, David has received numerous requests from producers to adapt the captivating story into a documentary. Notably, in 2022 renowned Actor/Producer Sam Worthington, reached out to David to discuss acquiring the move rights for the biography.

David began painting a significant and important body of work based on the arrival of the first fleet, and the following 80 years of impact on Australia’s Aboriginal people. The series would take over 14 years to complete and is known as Brushstrokes of History – An Artist’s perspective on early Australia

The release of David’s range of products was an exciting step in his artistic journey. The David Hart Homewares Collection has been designed so that clients can appreciate art through functional objects and in everyday scenarios. The icon range consisted of placemats, coasters, 100% linen tea towels and a recipe journal which all featured David’s iconic dragonfly imagery. The David Hart Inspiration range of calendars, daily inspirations, journals, card sets, writing pads, books, travel journals, sketch books and prints showcased a stunning selection of David’s various styles and imagery.

David exhibited a sell-out exhibition in Rockhampton, QLD and was a feature artist at an exhibition held at Greythorne Galleries in Melbourne and Manyung Gallery in Mornington Peninsula. He was a feature artist in the 2010 Collectors Exhibition exhibiting alongside David Boyd, Robert Dickerson, Pro Hart and d’Arcy W. Doyle. David also launched his 2010 Calendar at his one-man “Private Collection” exhibition at Mooloolaba in July, and in August he was the feature artist of the Nudgee College exhibition in Brisbane.

“Metal & Canvas” was a collaboration between Porsche Brisbane and David Hart. David exhibited a stunning array of artworks alongside the impressive new 2010 Porsche Series. Hosted by the Porsche Centre Brisbane Showroom, this exceptional mix of automobiles and artworks set the scene for a sensational event.

David was selected by Telstra to paint a mural for the 2012 London Olympic Games to launch the Telstra Hero Message campaign. It was started at Customs House in Sydney with Olympic champions Cathy Freeman and Geoff Huegill helping David to lay down the first layers of paint using sports equipment. The artwork was then completed in David’s studio in QLD. At 6 meters long and nearly 3 meters high, the artwork was far too large to fit in the Australian Olympic Committee headquarters building. At a cost of over $10,000 in materials to create, the artwork was kindly donated back to the artist by Telstra; it was transported back to QLD and now hangs in David’s private studio.

David was asked by the Brisbane Lord Mayor to join him on his Trade Delegation Mission visiting Taipei, Kaohsiung, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong to build relationships with senior government officials for future business together. The mission was very successful and opened many opportunities to expand into the Asian market.

David’s Australia Mural was hung in QLD Parliament and officially accepted by Hon. Glen Elmes, Minister for Multicultural Affairs in November 2012. Mr Elmes said, “I’m pleased to see the painting hanging in Parliament because, apart from being a stunning piece of art, it represents a change away from how the settlement of Australia has been portrayed in the past.”

David set up an agency in Korea to represent his work. The launch was held at the Australian Embassy and was a huge success with massive media coverage. Dr Sang Min Woo, Korean Commissioner of Trade & Investment, made the opening remarks and welcomed David to Korea. Later in 2013 David held his first solo exhibition in Seoul, Korea at the Grand Hyatt, which was attended by many politicians, celebrities, and wealthy citizens. As a part of this significant event, well-known Baritone singer Jung Kyoung sang and performed an operama about David’s artworks. The feature of the evening was the collaboration between David and world-renowned fashion designer Lie Sang Bong. David painted a painting that was inspired by Mr Lie’s 2013 Paris collection, and Mr Lie designed and made a dress inspired by one of David’s floral works from the exhibition. David’s wife, Christine, wore the designer dress at the opening of this exclusive event.

David set up an agency in Singapore to represent his work. The Design Hub was the first agency to feature David’s work with many of his paintings selling at the opening launch.

David was selected by the QLD Government to represent QLD artists at the opening of the China Construction Bank in Brisbane during the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

David was asked by artist Jessica Le Clerc to be painted for Australia’s most prestigious portrait prize, The Archibald prize. The artwork became a top ten finalist and was hung in the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney before it went on tour to regional galleries around Australia.

After moving to the USA for a short stint in 2015, David attended the Miami art fair where he launched himself into the USA market. David’s work was very well received and his Miami display opened up doors to representation at numerous galleries and a feature art display on a reality TV show being filmed in Miami.

David was asked by a huge gallery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA to represent his work and was a featured artist in their winter and summer exhibitions. He was also included in their quarterly magazine and was promoted as “An Artist to Watch”.

David’s work was selected exclusively by a team of New York producers for the set of a reality TV show being filmed in Miami, USA. It is called Jones Beach and is about a couple who are getting married. David’s artwork was hung throughout their home and was featured in much of the show – the stars of the show even talk about how much they love David’s work on camera! The show was released in the US towards the end of 2016.

David exhibited in art fairs in Hong Kong, New York and The Hamptons, USA.

David saw an opportunity to branch out into the Asian art market. Here you can see David using Skype to digitally attend a live exhibition to launch his artworks at a new gallery space in China.

David was asked to be a part of a very special exhibition being held at Red Hill Gallery to celebrate their 30^th Anniversary. The gallery had represented David’s artworks since very early in his career and had been a great supporter of David as an artist through the years.  David is pictured with Jamie Boyd.

David collaborated in a special promotion with The Lincoln Motor Company in Guangzhou, China. As a very special treat, Lincoln gave every purchaser of a motor vehicle an original David Hart painting. He also exhibited in private exhibitions at exclusive clubs throughout China.

David was asked by the mayor of Logan City Council to be a guest speaker and panel member at a combined regional QLD mayors and city planning conference called “Unpacking Innovation”.  During the three-day event, David spoke about new Innovations in the art sector and how art plays a vital role in society and in the economics of cities.

David’s collectable boxed sets of the Waltzing Matilda story was selected by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane to be given as gifts to Brisbane’s sister city Mayor’s at the Asia Pacific Summit and Mayors’ Forum.

David held a one-man exhibition of his work at his QLD home for his clients. Not only was the show attendance totally booked out, but the exhibition was also a huge success.

David was one of 6 artists selected around the world to represent their continent in an art book for children called Art of the Continents. The other artists include world renowned artists Henri Matisse from Europe, Romero Britto from Latin America, Katsushika Hokusai from Japan, Alexander S. Calder from North America and Betty LaDuke from Africa.

David was the solo artist at an exhibition held at Versace, Surfers Paradise where half of the exhibition sold within the first hour of the launch.

David’s artworks went on permanent display throughout the lobby area of the Hilton Hotel in Surfers Paradise. With over 30 artworks on display at any one time, it is one of the largest permanent exhibitions of his work to date.

The owner of the Hilton Surfers Paradise Hotel & Residences commissioned David to paint the famous Orchid Avenue, with of course the inclusion of his hotel in the skyline.  This painting was to be hung alongside a Pro Hart painting of the same scene that was painted some thirty years prior and didn’t have the Hilton Hotel in it. Pictured with Jerry Schwartz, the owner of the Hilton.

David had a solo exhibition at the Marriot Hotel in Surfers Paradise to raise funds for an organisation called Transformations. 10’s of $1,000’s was raised to help men and women with drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Flipside Circus approached David about a collaboration involving performance art through physical theatre. Although still in its early stages on conceptualisation, the show will focus on David’s life and art, and in particular the story of Bogart – from his 8 Black Dog Series.  Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) are very interested in the concept and have made a grant available for a team of creatives to put together the storyline and the performers needed to create the theatrical performance.

David held a solo exhibition at the Hilton Surfers Paradise Hotel & Residences.  For the first time ever, he also painted on site at the exhibition where he met and talked to every person who visited.

What a year this was!  When Covid-19 first hit Australian soil and we all started to go into lockdown, all the art galleries had to close, and one of our concerns was that art would stop selling altogether as usually luxury and investment items are the first things to stop when the economy suffers.  As the galleries were all closed, we offered a special offering directly to our clients.  Not only did David sell everything he had in stock, in a short 6-week sale period, he ended up selling 112 paintings as well as continued commissions for his artworks. The first twelve weeks of 2020 saw David sell the equivalent in sales to what he would normally sell in a one-year period.

The owner of the Hilton Hotel in Surfers Paradise commissioned David to paint a huge 2 x 2.5m painting in the style of Bogart – 8 Black Dogs, but instead of dogs hidden throughout the painting, he requested 12 red hearts; the painting was named Hart’s Hearts and now hangs in the lobby of the hotel at the entrance of an extraordinary “Real Human Anatomy Exhibition”.  It’s the only exhibition of its kind in Australia.

David purchased a 2.5-acre property at Sheldon, Brisbane, QLD where he created a “Living Gallery and the Hart Tranquil Guest House”.

David’s huge studio and workshop was built on his property in Sheldon. The launch included an exhibition of his latest work throughout his studio and Living Gallery that sold out in two days.

David launched a new range to his Art with Hart brand in the form of paint and sip art experiences, team building experiences, and art and accommodation experiences; please see the website for further information on these exclusive offerings.

David opened a gallery at the Hilton Surfers Paradise Hotel & Residences for a 6 month period whilst a completely glassed space was made available for this time.

A Netfilx series called The Mole, featured David’s painting in episode 7. The Mole is a reality competition series in which a group of contestants work together to build a pot of money that only one of them will be able to take home in the end. Among the group is the mole: a contestant who has been tasked with sabotaging the rest of the groups’ efforts; their only requirement is not getting caught. By episode 7, there are only 6 contestants left, and it’s their job to figure out which painting was created by a professional artist and which was created by the mole.

David’s latest venture entails a new gallery located at Marina Mirage in Main Beach on Queensland’s vibrant Gold Coast. This gallery proudly showcases three generations of artwork exclusively created by David, his father Pro Hart, and David’s adult children.

During the grand opening, the sales of David’s work in particular, exceeded expectations, and such was the enthusiasm, that even as the remarkable two-hour opening event ended, a queue of enthusiastic collectors were lined up at the reception desk, and all the way out the front door; eagerly anticipating the opportunity to acquire one of David’s captivating creations.

The tremendous success of the gallery has continued, with record sales contributing to a rise in the value of David’s paintings during the third quarter of 2023, continuing to cement David’s work as a highly sought after addition to any collection or investment portfolio.