David Pohl

David Pohl is an award winning illustrator and founder of House of Pingting, an independent creative studio working with design firms, magazine and book publishers, institutions, and ad agencies since 1991.

His illustrations have been commissioned by a wide range of clients including Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Notre Dame University, The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, The Kikkoman Corporation, Simon and Schuster, The Atlantic, City Theatre, and The Humane Society of the United States.

David’s bright and bold, conceptual illustrations frequently examine themes of identity, history, memory, nostalgia, environmentalism, and the human condition. He is keenly sensitive to the subject matter at hand, incorporating juxtaposition and visual metaphor as a storytelling device. He often utilizes found objects and recycled imagery to illuminate the narratives in his work. He has also worked in video, installation, performance, and sound art.

David holds a BFA in Painting from The Cleveland Institute of Art. He has taught a wide range of students from kindergarten to college at The Mattress Factory, The Pittsburgh Center For the Arts, LaRoche College, Robert Morris University, and The Carnegie Museum.

David has received awards from The Society of Illustrators, The Society of Publication Designers, American Illustration, Print, Graphis, Communication Arts and was included in Picnic: Pop Folk Contemporary Illustration and Lurzer’s Archive: 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide. In 2016 he created a series of brightly colored banners for Market Square that symbolically connected people and energized the iconic Pittsburgh gathering space.

His exhibitions include The Art Directors Club of New York, The Society of Illustrators Museum, Heinz History Center, August Wilson House, The Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art, The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, The Carnegie Museum, and New York Public Library.

Illustration by David Pohl