​Writer's note
1. Jason Hackenworth runs a studio of six art artists. Sixstar Art Studios: The Cradle of Originality and Inspiration Jason Hackenworth, a renowned artist and pioneer, has constantly pursued the creation of Sixstar Art Studios. His dedication ensures that the studio is more than just an exhibition space. It is a cradle where creativity blooms, and every time he visits, it leaves an indelible mark on the soul through a tapestry full of artistic wonders.
2. Jason Hackenworth transformed the ordinary into something of a wonder at famous art festivals and museums around the world, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Art Design Museum in Seoul, the Jangheung Art Park in Miami, the Art Basel in Miami Beach, and the Great Hall. For his 2011 marine environment campaign, Hackenwerth transformed the atrium of the London department store Selfridges into a giant coral reef jellyfish habitat. He and six assistants inflated and twisted 35,000 balloons for 10 hours each for 11 days. Sometimes the work only lasts a day or two, as was the case with TED talks or museum gala in 2007 and 2009. This is when Hackenwerth presents and takes away life, and then slaps and bursts out his artwork. "My artwork is not worth keeping, but it's okay," he says. In fact, being short-lived only highlights the rarity, sparking a sense of urgency to see while it's running.
Jason Heckenworth's approach is gestures, and each piece functions as a unique collection of emotions and media on a large scale. Jason Heckenworth uses everything from spray enamel to oil and acrylic paint to collages to evoke a non-serious look of the absurd or avant-garde movement of the past. He creates a negative space in the center of the canvas, splashes and stains edges, and displays his initials in the top corner of the piece. The size of each idea is determined in part by its scale, but that innate energy (whether positive or depressed) is made possible by his commitment to connectivity and his comprehensive desire for it. Harmony. In works like The Ferryman's Riddle (2023) and Souls at Sea (2023), Jason Heckenworth reshapes the concept of marine vessels as industrial, commercial tools and transforms them into warm, unfinished messengers of hope in times of fierce, squabbling transnational disputes. In the former, the daffodil-colored ship to paradise is constantly in progress wherever it is. (Camp Gallery 2024)
3. Hackenwerth traditionally started his career in 2003 when he arrived in New York with a BFA from Webster University in his hometown of St. Louis and an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. "I started making objects and paintings that weren't much different from the other thousand things," he recalls. "I had to find some material to make my work stand out."
Fighting for recognition and money for years, he relied on the talent he inherited from his mother, who displayed groceries, waited for tables, sold cars, and reluctantly twisted balloon animals to entertain his children when cash was seriously scarce. In New York, he ultimately graduated from a gallery job, but a poor salary and a gloomy subway commute weighed heavily on his soul, and an idea finally popped into his head like a balloon.
He began experimenting with manipulating balloons into fantastic shapes. Then, one morning in the summer of 2004, at four o'clock, he attached neon green and orange glowing clusters to the sandy subway walls, which shook like exotic flowers or sea creatures, as a train passed by toward the basement. Jason Heckenworth waited unnoticed until the platform was full, then watched as people stopped, riders took pictures, and potentially damaged people left the balloons unattended. Less than a year after improvising an underground art exhibition, Jason Heckenworth's balloon sculptures floated above crowds at galleries and art fairs. And as the space grew in size, so did his skills. He developed a knitting technique that connected almost an infinite number of balloons.
4. The sculpture begins with a sketch based on an organic, round shape that Jason Hekkenworth drew from an early age. "Everything on Earth evolves in this form in some way," he says. "When you paint, it comes down to the arc that your wrist creates. The curve of the line is universal."
Jason Heckenworth had already spent hours ruminating on the space with his eyes closed by the time he was building on site. Although he prefers to ponder on site, he often starts with photos or videos.
5. "A machine can't pop a thin balloon, so if you want to inflate 100 on the spot, you inflate it with your face. It's pure determination."
"Art is similar to flowers. Flowers bloom in the worst places and attract other creatures that never existed there before."
"Artists often have no money and help enrich their lives by working in difficult circumstances. Look at how artists changed Soho or Chelsea. How long will it take to transform Detroit into an amazing place through its ordinary materials and connectivity?"
"My first and most important tool is my body. Making this work is a struggle. It takes patience. I do meditation and stretching every day, and I try to exercise regularly. I found that this helped my mind transition from thought to acceptance. To make a latex sculpture, you need different machines and pumps that can inflate the balloon, depending on the balloon you are going to use. I also use safety equipment, including safety glasses, if I inflate air with my mouth. I have an eye injury and have successfully treated it. Art is hard!"

- JASON HECKENWORTH -