Biography
Contemporary realism painter Carin Gerard infuses her experiences, travels and education into each work of art. Utilizing color theory and techniques of the Italian and Spanish masters, Gerard captures a singular moment with astounding skill and grace. Her work blends the classical realism of the Renaissance era with the spirit and spontaneity of contemporary art. It is a distinctive style that combines the wonder of light and interplay of shadow.
Born in Santa Monica, Calif., Gerard started her formal artistic training at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She then began travels to Europe, where she found inspiration in the great museums of Rome, Venice, Florence, London, Paris and Amsterdam through the timeless beauty of the old masters. Determined to keep expanding her artistic horizons, Gerard moved to the Chianti region of Tuscany, just south of Florence, Italy. For two years, she studied classical realism with Charles H. Cecil, whose art Academy is one of the most highly acclaimed Florentine ateliers. While studying with Cecil and living in a 19th-century Chianti farmhouse, Gerard created a series of eighteen paintings titled: Quattro Stagioni. The series incorporated the four seasons, capturing the breathtaking landscape of the surrounding countryside and the charm of the Tuscan villages. Quattro Stagioni had a successful exhibition at Studio Restauro in Florence, in 1996.
Gerard’s career flourished quickly, with her acceptance to the prestigious John Pence Gallery in San Francisco, Calif., in 1997. In December 2001, Gerard was chosen to represent the United States in the Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea in Florence, Italy, and in 2003 she exhibited with the esteemed Southern California Art Projects & Exhibitions (SCAPE) in Corona Del Mar, Calif. In 2008, Gerard was selected to represent still life artists in an exhibition titled Contemporary Still Lifes at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. In 2011, Gerard continued to develop her technique by completing a course at the Grand Central Art Academy in New York under the tutelage of Graydon Parrish on the Munsell Color Theory. Gerard has also exhibited at the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery in New York, New York, the Diane Nelson Gallery in Laguna Beach, Calif., and D.N.F.A. gallery in Pasadena, Calif. She has presented her work at numerous one-person exhibitions at SCAPE, which continues to represent her and serves as her west coast gallery. In 2024, Gerard was selected to exhibit at the acclaimed Gallery Henoch in Chelsea, offering her an east coast presence in this bustling fine art area of New York, New York.
Gerard is featured frequently in trade and consumer publications, as well as a wide range of media outlets including International Artists, C Magazine, Modern Luxury, and Circle Quarterly Art Review. She has also painted several large-scale, private commission pieces for prominent clients including the renowned author and speaker Simon Sinek, Dolly Parton, iconic fashion designer, Kim Winser (OBE) for the Winser London x Carin Gerard Clothing Collection, as well as the senior vice president of retail at Apple Inc. Gerard’s most recent collection of paintings, Realized in Nature, which will be on exhibit at Gallery Henoch in the fall of 2024, includes the “Written Word” and “Gem” series. Similar to previous collections, Gerard finds harmony and agency in recognizing our interconnectedness with nature and the eternal sequence of renewal. With these series, she has intentionally shifted into a broader, more vivid color palette that lends a deeper, moodier and enigmatic quality to her work. Her vibrant, expressive paintings elicit feelings of transformation by emphasizing the dramatic interplay of light and shadow. This engages the viewer’s sense of the magical and fanatical, with oversized florals that evoke imagination rather than reality.
Gerard’s inspiration continues to find its roots in European influence. She returns to Florence, Italy, several times a year where she paints from her studio in a restored 14th century palazzo—Palazzo Tornabuoni—once owned by the Medici family. The palazzo itself is a piece of art history manifested through its magnificent frescoes. Most often, Gerard lives and paints from her stateside home in southern California, which rouses her creativity while nourishing her soul, allowing for the truest expression of her artist self.
At present, Gerard is exhibiting with Southern California Arts Projects & Exhibitions (SCAPE) in Corona Del Mar, Calif., and Gallery Henoch in New York, New York.