David O'Brien was born in Washington D.C. on April 7th 1977 and raised in rural southern Maryland. Empty shotgun casings and abandoned deer stands became toys and tree forts in the woods behind the house. David spent most of his childhood exploring the forest, working with rusty power tools in the garage and playing video games. Encouraged to pursue art at an early age by teachers, David was accepted into the VPA art program in eastern Maryland; where students from several area high schools would attend a single art class for half of each school day.

David attended the Virginia Tech College of Architecture from 1995 to 2000 where he received several honors as an architecture student. However, deeper interests in art and music never faded. He was member of of the XYZ student run art gallery and the Studio Propulsid art collective. During this time he immersed himself in life drawing, and his architectural work took on a more abstract nature. Cosmological diagrams and figure drawings showing bone and muscle structure comprised most of his senior thesis project.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture, David moved to New York in 2000, working in architecture and producing electronic music for various record labels. In 2003 he moved to San Francisco, collaborating with friends and putting on DJ and Sound Art performances. After two years in the Bay Area, he moved to Los Angeles. David worked for Frank Gehry Architects for almost 3 years, learning the art of design with hand-built physical models before leaving to pursue his own career in fine art. He is represented by the Cerasoli : Lebasse Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.