Darren Terpstra

Early Renaissance artists realized that human life is full of chaos and suffering, and offered beauty as a remedy. The beautiful work of art brings consolation in sorrow, and affirmation in joy. Fine art had an almost sacred status; beauty helps lift us to a higher moral or spiritual plane. I believe art can still be beautiful, adhere to age-old standards of line, shape, design, composition, color, texture, narrative and craftsmanship, and have relevant commentary for the viewer. I love the 'art' of design and the truly graphic nature of illustration. I also have a passion for vintage images; illustrations, engravings, lithographs, and woodcuts that have been lost to the world, sequestered away in rare books. These things are an inspiration to me in their sheer beauty and brilliance. One area that I've been focusing on recently is researching and using rare archival images/materials in my art. By seeking out these old concrete images, and mixing them with new abstract/modern painted backgrounds, textures, shapes and sensibilities, I'm able to blur the boundaries between design, illustration, and fine art. This allows for the creation of new imagery, with a new visual narrative, for a new audience.

Darren Terpstra is a native of Minnesota where he received his education in visual communication. He's been working professionally in the corporate and academic world of art and design for many years, but has recently gone back to his roots creating his own fine art. His work combines painting, collage, and photography in both acrylic and hot beeswax mediums. He is drawn to the mechanism of collage to story-tell, which pares well with his passion for vintage images; illustrations, maps, letters, engravings, lithographs, and woodcuts that have been lost to the world, sequestered away in rare books and documents. These things are an inspiration to him in their beauty and aesthetic contributions to society, regardless of their practical or functional purpose, and they provide wonderful symbolism and abstraction for his work. Darren also photographs the world around him, not just images of natural beauty, but of patterns, patinas, textures and commentary on our times, mixing those images into his art as well. Darren has honed a foundation in conceptualizing and developing strong imagery and narrative in his work, whether literal or abstract, featuring looks that have a rich, multilayered, and textural appearance, with notions of wonder or magic. This draws the viewer in on a surface level, and invites them to spend time observing the greater depth revealed upon closer inspection.