Anne Terpstra (b. SF, 1986) is an abstract painter, printmaker and photographer based in San Francisco’s mission district. A San Francisco native, she earned her Bachelors in Studio Art from San Francisco State University where she studied printmaking, photography and exhibition design. Anne’s work across mediums is rooted in abstract expressionist traditions and her current work in oil painting and cyanotype is heavily influenced by her background in printmaking, which inspires attention to layering and a subtractive connection to painting.
Anne investigates movement, evanescence, and resilience in her process, both as a painter and photographer. For Anne, creating art is a revolt, a kind of rebellion against the transitory nature of life. Her work consistently pushes the boundaries and blurs the lines between artistic mediums. Some of her most prominent influences include expressionists Robert Rauschenburg and Lee Krasner.
In looking at her paintings, we are struck by the immediacy of the paint, but also of a whole past life under the work. She is inspired by the tactility of the paint itself, and often starts with more paint than a palette knife or brush can comfortably hold, thereby creating a challenge which demands a physical response to the materials themselves. She states, “My interest lies in how a picture emerges this way and in creating images in which presence and absence appear inextricably linked.” She draws much inspiration from the natural world and the California coast as she states, “I draw abstractly from my memory of natural landscapes, ocean sides, and the experience of the play of light in these environments.”
Anne exhibits her art in a variety of galleries, design studios, and showrooms in San Francisco. Some recent venues include: Gallery 60SIX, Kneedler Fauchére, Studio D, Gamble + Design, and the SFMOMA Artists Gallery. Anne’s work in printmaking and photography has been published on CD packages by the internationally recognized jazz and world music label, Adventure Music, New York. Her work in cyanotype is featured on the cover of “Vignette,” a duet album by bassist and composer Viktor Krauss, and harpist Maeve Gilchrist.
In addition to her own art practice, Anne has extensive experience designing, curating, installing and photographing art exhibits throughout San Francisco. She’s worked with Gallery 60SIX, Carl Hansen & Son’s SF Showroom, SF Camerawork, and individual Artists, Designers, and Stagers on a regular and special project basis.