Dave Lock (b. 1988) is a Manila-based contemporary painter and multimedia artist whose work explores the visceral and psychological complexities of the human condition. Often described through the lens of "optimistic nihilism," Lock is recognized for his "total obliteration of beauty," a stylistic choice that favors raw, distorted forms and "nightmare-ridden" imagery over traditional aesthetic appeal.
Since the early 2000s, Lock has been a consistent presence in the Philippine art scene, utilizing organic shapes and a dark, surrealist palette to depict traumatized bodies and dystopian realities and engaging with themes of self-destruction, the irrationality of modernity, and the lasting impact of unnamed trauma.
"If God is in the machine Then the devil Probably swims in the fury Of the heart" Acrylic & Industrial Nails On Shaped Wood 2025 Exhibited under TLYR Collectives' "Re-rooting In Unfamiliar Soil" at Luzon Art Fair 2025.
"Your Hair is as Mean as your Life has Been" Pen & Ink On Paper 2025
"Gossamer" Pen & Ink On Paper 2024
"Mamatay, Mamatay At Mabuhay sa tula" Pen & Ink & Acrylic on Paper 9x12 inches 2024
"Bury my memories Into the depths of the heart So that it may sprawl Towards a tyrant sun As a tree of dreams Wrathful, roaring like lightning Escaping the earth" As Babel unbound" Pen & Ink On Paper 2024 Exhibited at "Dreaming Of Deathless, Endless Thunder", a solo exhibition at Secret Fresh Gallery.
"The Glass Hidden in The Grass" Pen & Ink On Paper 2023
"Secret Smoker" Oil Pastel On Paper 2020
"RNBW" Oil Pastel On Paper 2020
