A b o u t T h a d

Thaddeus Michael Kellstadt (July 29, 1977 - June 11, 2023) was a brilliant artist, musician, poet, skater, son, brother, lover, rad dude, comedy genius, and the best friend you could ever hope to have. He created an influential and impressive body of creative work and collaborations in his all-too-short time on planet Earth. This website aims to share his work with the world (although it does not pretend to accurately represent the vibrancy of his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and his electric creative force). It will be ongoing and growing, as more of the portfolio can be collected and displayed. We want to honor Thad’s wonderful artistic gifts and remember his wild talent. We miss you, Thad.

“There is a lot of invention, accumulation, recycling and editing in my art practice. I’m influenced by my nostalgia for and appreciation of counter culture movements, psychedelia, youth cultures and creative people. I find humor and beauty in acts of rebellion. In my process, I scour the internet, visit thrift stores, steal from dumpsters, pillage scrap wood piles to find materials that are cheap but also offer the potential for reimagination. Collecting and reforming are vital parts of my work, and allow me to create wonderful problems. Finding the solution, or trying, is the biggest part of the process and also the part I love and loathe. It involves an ever-changing negotiation between my aspirations and the nature of the forms. Each step of the process informs the next, with color being the ultimate instrument and negotiator. The paintings and sculptures act architecturally, figuratively or topographically, all at once or independently. They are houses, they are friends and they are road maps. In dark times, they offer escape routes to joy.”

- Thad

Thaddeus Kellstadt