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Chris grew up near the banks of the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta and in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. He spent three and a half years living in Taiwan, studying Chinese. While there, Terfloth also taught ESL, modeled, acted in TV commercials and did voice work. He later graduated with a Master’s Degree in Chinese Language and Literature from Indiana University, Bloomington.
After graduation, Chris taught German, Latin, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese for ten years in North Carolina. During that time, he pursued his passion for art as an illustrator and set designer. Terfloth, however, felt he was barely feeding his artistic drive. He was naturally drawn to painting, having a family tree of painters and sculptors that goes back to Germany four generations.
A move back west to Bozeman, Montana, put Chris in contact with bronze sculptor Dennis Harrington. Dennis encouraged Chris to pursue his passion for art. Within a year, Terfloth began exhibiting in local galleries and branched out across the state of Montana. In 2007, his work was one of only three artists selected by jury to show that year at the Corporate Gallery of Zoot Enterprises. The success of that four-month show led to ongoing gallery representation in Montana, Oregon and Florida. His work is in private collections throughout the United States and Canada and he paints fulltime in his Bozeman, Montana studio.
Terfloth’s style consists of contemporary, expressionist abstracts in acrylic. His paintings focus on bold colors and lush textures that depict a tumult of emotions and movement. Because of his experiences in Asia, Chris often employs the Taoist themes of Yin and Yang, balance and nature in his work. He paints spontaneously, beginning with an idea and the colors that will be incorporated in a piece. From there, Terfloth lets the painting evolve and lead him to its completion.
Viewers of Terfloth’s work often see different facets and meanings within his vibrant, almost three-dimensional pieces. Textures, created by layering paint and by adding sand, glass, paper and crushed garnet, entice the observer to reach out and touch his paintings. The passion Chris paints with is clearly visible.
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