Thematic Studio Archive: Poster Design by Michael Laurence

Join us for another unique Gallery Opening on Friday, September 11th from 5-8pm when we welcome Michael Laurence's collection of wonderful poster designs from 1997-2026 to our space. We'll supply the drinks, art, music and community. You supply you. And with that, please read on for an introduction to the show from the artist himself...

Hello. I'm Michael Laurence, founder and creative director of Thematic Studio based right here in Portland, Oregon. Thematic is a full-service design and branding agency, but my passion has always been poster design, particularly for music. My design career began in earnest with Bill Graham Presents, the legendary San Francisco concert promoter best known for the iconic Fillmore Auditorium and Warfield Theater. Since 1997, I’ve been designing commemorative concert posters for artists I love (Yo La Tengo, Radiohead, Portishead, Stereolab, Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy—to name a few). 

Each poster features a distinct “Thematic” style that employs a unique, hybrid analog/digital design approach. Visual themes are inspired by each performers' music, as well as wider influences including: Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Cornell, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Darren Waterston, David Lynch, Rex Ray, Vaughan Oliver, Peter Saville, Karel Martens, Jennifer Sterling, David Carson, Saul Bass, Imaginary Forces, and others. My poster design style follows no single graphic design tradition, combining varied source material (original Polaroid photographs, found objects, obscure letterforms from vintage type-specimen books) with a mix of technical execution and expressive abandon.

In 2026, I launched the Thematic Poster Shop, an ongoing series of self-commissioned gig posters for live shows in the Portland area. In part as a reaction to recent years spent focused on digital design, these posters are a welcome return to my roots in tactile print design. Each poster is produced as a strictly-limited artist edition.

This exhibition is a curated collection of new and vintage posters that I’ve designed over the years for shows in California and the Pacific Northwest. Also included are select posters from my personal studio archive, designed by some talented friends and colleagues: Rex Ray, Jonathan Hess & Patrick Nistler, Jim Winters, and Frank Wiedemann. These posters were acquired during my time with Bill Graham Presents, and they’re excellent reflections of the vibrant San Francisco poster scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Taken together, the pieces in this exhibit represent an edited overview of my poster design career to date (in addition to selections from a few contemporaries for wider context). My work often explores themes of: surrealism, intangibility, dream logic, the passage of time, chance encounters, connection, irony, nature, obscurity, and randomness. I’m always seeking to visually capture the elusive and fleeting aural experience, while at the same time leaving ample space open for interpretation. The common thread is a sensory exploration of looking and listening.

Thank you so much for being here. —Michael Laurence

michael@thematic.studio

www.thematic.studio

IG: @thematicpdx