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Home
Lifestyle + CultureArt

Concrete Canvas: David Choe’s Love Affair with Denver

Lindsey BartlettAugust 28, 2013
ArtLifestyle + Culture4 min read
4 min read

David Choe in DenverDavid Choe lives a crazy life and paints in amazing places. Denver is lucky enough to be one of them. Choe is an art school drop out, world renowned street-artist, law breaker, radio talk-show host and unexpected Facebook millionaire investor. Street art has taken him around the world. Today, his unbelievable murals line 13th and Champa in the alley behind the Denver Center of Performing Arts.

Choe painted four of the six jaw-dropping murals in 2012, which have lasted the test of time. Choe returned to Denver this year and added two more paintings to the wall. They are inspired, electric, colorful and chaotic. It’s as if they want to jump off the concrete. An ordinary grey wall is now a gallery commemorating the fast life and times of David Choe.

David Choe in Denver

Choe’s fame and wealth can be attributed to Facebook. In 2005, Choe was asked to paint murals on the walls of the original Facebook office. The once president Sean Parker came to Choe and offered him either $60,000 as payment for his work or a handsome amount of stock. Even though young artist Choe sorely needed the money, he took a risk and said yes to the stock. No one knew how big Facebook would become nearly a decade ago. It was a gamble that would pay for a lifetime.

Flash forward to Spring 2012: Facebook announces it is going public and the price of shares skyrocket. People estimated David Choe’s shares to be worth over $200 million. Facebook has since carved out Choe’s original murals and shipped them to every single office in the world.

Outed by the cover of the New York Times in February 2012, Choe is a reluctant millionaire. He had every news organization banging on his door. He agreed to speak in an exclusive Barbara Walters interview where he explained his hesitance towards the huge amount of money.

David Choe in Denver, 2013

David Choe in Denver, 2013

“It’s going to sound horrible for me to say money is meaningless, but everyone’s like, what are you gonna do now now that you have all this money and freedom? I did everything I wanted to when I had nothing. I’m still going to do whatever I want except more people are just going to bother me now.”

Choe is a rolling stone who spends most of his time traveling. He details the cash-fueled escapades on his radio shows. The sheer insanity of the stories sound like fiction. They include frequent trips to Vegas casinos, jumbo jets, prostitutes, all while Choe was winning and losing millions. He eventually became exhausted from the gambling, women, and fast-paced lifestyle. Choe described it as a severe loss of touch with reality. Sober and in control, David Choe now gets his excitement fix from travel, food, and of course, street-art.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, this is like a God-like amount of money where I could actually change the world and do things to help humanity.”

His documentary “Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe” (2005) details Choe’s sordid past, illegal tagging, getting arrested, going to prison, as well as his work with Facebook in the beginning stages of it’s creation.

“As an artist, I often wonder what my purpose is or why I do what I do. So those things will hopefully come into more clarity, or maybe not. I don’t know.”

David Choe in Denver, 2012

David Choe in Denver, 2012

David Choe in Denver, 2012

David Choe in Denver, 2012

 

David Choe in Denver, 2013

David Choe in Denver, 2013

David Choe in Denver, 2012

David Choe in Denver, 2012

David Choe in Denver, 2012

David Choe in Denver, 2012

Full David Choe wall, 2013

Full David Choe wall, 2013

303 graffitiamazingbarbara walters interviewcolorfuldavid choedavid choe facebookdavid choe street-artDenverDenver street artFacebookgrafgraffitiLindsey Bartlettlovemuralsoriginal facebook officeoriginal photographyphotographysean parkerstreet artwow

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Lindsey Bartlett
Senior Staff Writer, Culture Desk

Lindsey Bartlett is a Denver native who graduated from Colorado State University in Spring of 2012. She writes editorial pieces about art, television, sub-culture, film, music, food, and anything involving creativity in the Mile High City. Lindsey is the Photography Manager as well as one of the Social Media coordinators for 303 Magazine. You can find her riding her bike in Capitol Hill taking pictures of the best local street-art. Creep it real on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

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To enter, you must be local to the Denver area and a minimum age of 18. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram.
 
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Announcing the Together is Better Giveaway with @realmdenver!
Attention all Denver small, local and independent businesses—we have partnered with Realm for a giveaway of a full day at Realm to host your very own photo and/or video shoot, complete with a 303 feature! ​**Head to the link in bio to enter!**
This is the perfect opportunity for any local business (including product and service-oriented businesses and nonprofits) that could benefit from an opportunity to create content on behalf of your business’ mission and connect with a larger audience in Denver.
Each of the three selected submissions will receive:
-Full 10 hour day at Realm
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Submissions are due by end of day January 31, 2021
The three chosen submissions will be announced February 10, 2021
While this past year has posed many challenges, we are hopeful that by coming together, we can continue to strengthen and energize our local community. After all, together ​is​ better.
To enter, you must be local to the Denver area and a minimum age of 18. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram.

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#mollysspirits #denverdrinks #drinkdenver #sponsored

This year has been rough. Let Molly's help you give 2020 the sendoff it deserves! Pre-order your NYE bubbles for pickup or delivery from @MollysSpirits today. 🍾 🥂 

Don't worry: If you need something a bit stiffer to ring in the new year, they've got some of that, too. 😉

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📝: @mister.wrenn 
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