MA IN STUDIO ART
THESIS EXHIBITION
ANNIKA TERPSTRA

My work engages the idea of visually presenting a memory. These paintings are derived from my “college experience—“ a formative chapter shaped by carefree yet reckless, special yet forgotten, people and moments. I am interested in modern technology’s role in reshaping our memory— how it stores, distorts, and reactivates what we remember. I find myself holding onto countless photos and videos— fragments of the past always within reach. Though digitally weightless, the memories are physically opened up for contemplative space, as I pull them apart, collage, and mold them together through the process of painting. 

Oil paint offers a space to apply, smear, splatter, blur, layer, and erase. The initial pass on the surface reflects a fleeting moment: present, then gone. I capture what can be, with a thin wash. Following the initial pass, I make decisions to push or subtract what has already been formed. Shifts in pace echo how memory resurfaces— suddenly, or slowly, without warning. Figures that emerge mirror how memory blurs truth, time, perception, and emotion. They blend in and fall out of their environment, allowing viewers to interpret and discern. Melting environments cater to personal attachment, speaking to the tension of holding on and letting go. They are beautiful, yet simultaneously haunting. Their dreamlike ambiguity remains open to me, and then to the viewer. 

Covering a blank surface is much like a moment in time— quick, intuitive, and uncertain. I instinctually select from my archive of photos and videos, guided by shapes and rhythms of movement. The result may be pursued or abandoned. If pursued, I continue to allow the feelings of color, the weight of the paint, and the strength of forms dictate what unfolds. Nothing is fixed, as each decision sets the stage for the next. Accidental drips and splashes ground me in humility, reminding me of limits of control. Fluidity is crucial to me as it encapsulates altered memory. These works are part of my search to examine, reflect, and ultimately find meaning in lived experience. 

Annika Terpstra (b. 2001) is a figurative painter currently based in Fairfield, Iowa. Her work explores the subtle emotional currents of the human form through paint. Focused on vulnerability, and the ephemeral qualities of gesture, her paintings invite a contemplative encounter. In June 2025, she will receive her Master of Arts in Studio Art from Maharishi International University. This spring, she will be exhibiting her work in the BFA/MA Thesis Exhibition at the Wege Gallery, reflecting an ongoing interest in how material process and emotional resonance intersect. Annika continues to develop her practice through sustained studio work, commissions, working as a tattoo artist, and a commitment to expanding her understanding of contemporary figuration.