David Gilhooly was born in Auburn, California in 1943, but his family moved often, spending time in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where he graduated from high school. He had developed an interest in biology and archeology, and registered at the University of California at Davis as a biology major. He changed to an art major after taking a ceramics class with Robert Arneson and received his MA in 1967. Together with other ceramic artists, Robert Arneson, Peter Vandenberge, Chris Unterseher and Margaret Dodd, he established what would come to be known as California Funk Ceramic Movement. He was not exclusively working in ceramics at the time, but experimented with a variety of sculpture media. His interest in biology was evident in his full-size sculptures of animals, his elephant foot stools and, later, his frogs.
He was hired by the art department at the University of Saskatchewan where he had a considerable influence on a developing Regina ceramic art scene. He moved to Toronto and began teaching at York University. While in Ontario, he had a touring exhibition entitled “With David Gilhooly in the Frog World” and was featured on the cover of Arts Canada.
He would move to Calgary and then return to California where he departed from his figurative frog ceramics. His new medium of choice was plexiglass. The following year, he completed his giant Dagwood Sandwiches, which were then considered to be his last ceramic works. Over the years, he continued to create sculptures in plexiglass and clay.
