TERRY CHASTAIN
Terry was fitted with glasses at age six. At age seven he was given a paint set; now he had vision and the tools. Terry's artistic ventures led him to the University of Texas, in Austin. There he received a BFA in painting. Finding the need to explore the world, he sailed towards Europe, setting his sights on a small art colony in Budapest.
He stopped over in Paris, was seduced by the city and stayed. Finding himself a room in a garrett hotel on the Left Bank, he created a makeshift studio, where he pulled small monotypes. His whimsical work fused structure with gesture, hinted at improbable narratives and was influenced by artists such as Alexander Calder, Thomas Hart Benton, Jackson Pollock and jean Baptiste Carpeaux.
After a year abroad Terry returned to the States, and relocated to San Francisco, a city known for it's divergent art scene. Immersing himself in the new city, Terry soon established Tinhorn Press , located in the cellar of Momi Toby's Revolution Cafe and Art Bar--a small bistro he had co-founded a year earlier in Hayes Valley. joining talents and printing presses with Master Printer John Gruenwald, the two formed an artistic alliance that has been operating underneath the cafe for eight years until moving to it's new location , a small storefront directly across the street. The gallery is committed to representing both local and international artists, who specialize in works on paper.