Bill Thelen
(American, b. 1966)
Struck by the correlation between the AIDS epidemic and COVID, Thelen set out to create joy amongst the chaos. maximum joy was constructed against the backdrop of an escape – from isolation to another form of seclusion, a sojourn at the beach.
The installation is primarily comprised of singular, washy, gestural watercolor drawings Thelen produced on his seaside stay, inspired by the color palette of the beach and the sounds of Welcome to The Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, an album Thelen first discovered in high school and recently rediscovered. For these images, he focused on isolated images – faces, figures, objects, body parts.
Simultaneously, Thelen was making drawings inspired by recent connections with others through the initiation of the Drawing Room's Zoom Drawing Club, an online meeting-place where like-minded, lonely drawers could connect and draw together every Saturday. COVID, self-discovery, mortality, geriatric sex in the time of crisis, space travel, queer theory, political and social outrage are all themes explored in Thelen’s monumental assemblage, maximum joy. The addition of other objects, such as books and fireworks, come together to form a larger, narrative self-portrait.
As part of maximum joy, Thelen will present a special zoom drawing club for the Davidson College community.
Biography
Thelen, born in Milwaukee, WI, holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin and an MFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Since 1998, he has shown work in solo exhibitions across the US at venues including the Allcott Gallery at UNC, Allston Skirt Gallery in Boston, The Rubenstein at Duke University, Green Gallery West in Milwaukee, Vox Populi in Philadelphia, and the Branch Gallery and Spectre Arts in Durham, among others. His work has been included in Frieze, the New York Times, Art in America, Time Out London, Sculpture, and other publications. Thelen has held residencies at UNC-Chapel Hill (2005), Obracodobra in Oaxaca, Mexico (2016), and The Rubenstein at Duke University (2018). He has also worked as a curator for institutions including CAM Raleigh and the Flanders Gallery, and served as director of Lump in Raleigh. Thelen lives in Raleigh, NC.
