Toxic Avenger

Portland | Cecil Brown

Out with the toxic street team, they were advertising for the new show at hecklewood for Jason Thielke on Friday, March 16. From the Pearl to old town to the industrial NW, hecklewoods glasses and “Toxic” are represent’n. At the end of the night, we were chased off by a angry guy with a stearn mustache.

I followed these guys who were stenciling these 3-D glasses and “toxic”. Risking a serious fine to show off the new works from Jason Thielke is worth it. Having a real talent like Thielke in Portland, again helps put Portland more on the national scene. Having recently had a show at OK OK in Seattle this is his second show in Cascadia.

Taken from his website.

Originally from Tempe, Arizona, Jason Thielke studied art at Northern Illinois University, lived in Sicily for two years and now calls Denver, Colorado home.

Jason Thielke observes, documents, and designs urban landscapes and their inhabitants, providing commentary on modern life. Thielke has always been inspired by his surroundings, at times overwhelmed by them. Jason’s strong emotional connection to the built environment and its’ inevitable rise and fall provide the foundation for his growing body of work.

Thielke’s work is linear, layered, dynamic and multi–media in nature. It encompasses both contemporary and traditional techniques much like the architectural design of today. His process of drawing, composing, and eventually transferring images to wood is parallel to the planning, deconstruction and reconstruction phases of urban gentrification.

The physical environment in which we live is designed and built. However, it is incomplete until the people for whom it was designed interact with it. Thielke takes this environment home with him, shapes it to his liking and reinstalls it for further interaction.