YANELIS REYNALDO CARSON
Where Light and Color Merge To Create A Captivating Visual Harmony
Esperanza is a celebration of the fragile beauty of the moment, captured and frozen in a perfect harmony of tone and form, a tribute to the expressive power of lyrical abstraction.
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The intrinsic natural beauty of the soul of a woman is revealed in the paintings of Yanelis Carson, on display in a solo exhibition through October 31 at Maison Keï Akai Art Contemporain Gallery in an exhibition that clearly announces her transition from up and coming to here now.
Located at 1428 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal, the address is placed at the beginning of this article so that you will be encouraged to map it out and get there! Yannelis is a bright light making her way in the art field with a comprehensive and powerful collection of work akin to an education in the continuum of classic modes of abstraction expression. Creativity demands novelty and experimentation and Yanelis, through a use of colors and forms that can only be described as magical with a strong touch of the mystical. These paintings spring forth from the bounds of classification in a style of purity and substance that emanates from a wellspring deep within. While the meanings of these paintings can be known only to her, the results can be contemplatively enjoyed as not only an inspirational homage to all the greats who have put brush to canvas from the walls of caves to the most modern. Viewing these paintings is a journey into the mind of one taking a truly original foray into spatial experiences internal and external. Each piece, rooted in lyrical abstraction, explores the subtle interplay of shapes and gestures, inviting viewers to a moment of peaceful reflection
rooted in intuitive abstraction, is distinguished by a natural mastery of gesture and the interplay of contrasts.”
Yanelis handles color with a rare sensitivity, juxtaposing vivid and subtle tones that find their balance in a composition where everything seems in perfect harmony.
Yanelis’s colors have a powerful impact. Whether they calm or energize us, focus or motivate us, soothe or cheer us, colors affect us. We’ve all felt that power and been influenced by it. Soothing and challenging they are never tiring as the artists palette is warm and inviting, reminiscent of a warm breeze on a tropical day. Formlessly they flow into each other to uncover layers of intensity of imagination and a purposeful conclusion in which the viewer can enter into the depth of meditation of a welltrained artist who turns thoughts ino coherent works of art that can be viewed as a collective excursion into what the Moody Blues described as a journey into the center of one’s mind. In this unified collection, on these blank pages of canvas, Yanelis has poured the ethos and pathos of a beautiful mind. Her internal struggles are revealed with all her heart into these works which are the culmination of a lifetime of inspiration.
The collection Esperanza is a veritable ode to harmony, where light and color merge in a delicate dialogue exploring the subtle interconnection between colors, shapes and gestures. Each canvas becomes a field of expression where pigments intertwine in a harmonious dance, a chromatic ballet that exudes freshness and light. The artist’s practice,
Drawing inspiration from her Cuban roots and her experiences around the world, her abstract work is both vibrant and personal. Her decisive and saturated colors interect perfectly well with the soft tenderness of a sensitive warmth that her paintings exude. The contrasts are not jarring but rather enlightening. The artist’s exquisite palette renders her thoughts to reveal a harmonious medley of color that blends into a softly swirling whorl of energy both calm and soothing and totally expressive of her sensitive heart, great liveliness of mind and fiery character.
The title of the exhibition, Esperanza is a Spanish feminine given name, meaning “Hope” or “Expectation” which serves to exemplify a unified theme not only in the paintings but in the artist’s life. Having come through some very dark days caused by the still unsolved death of her
Thoughts, Oil on Canvas, 2023, 24” x 72”. The horizonal landscape of thoughts as with all the artists pieces seem to move with on the canvas. This composition can be read left to right as with a book. Maybe words that should not bespoken are subdued in symbols without language yet released within the abstract colors, and composition to ease the weight of the moment. Muted colors shifting form dark to light accentuate the possible mood of the piece. As with the other works here the artist is removed from the subject while expressing the abstraction of ideas.
Esperanza
A celebration of the fragile beauty of the moment, captured and frozen in a perfect harmony of tone and form, a tribute to the expressive power of lyrical abstraction.
stepson Stephane on his self-made boat on a journey he made to the South Pacific and the terrible effect it had on her husband, Yanelis Reynaldo Carson fights through the grief and loss with bright and rich color flooding the canvas with each segmented area signifying something of importance. The sum of these individual motifs form a symphony for the senses. Yannelis is totally involved in the act of painting mind, body and spirit. Shapes and forms represent her love with special inference to hope and expectation, which is of utmost importance in the search for truth and beauty. One can take comfort in her adherence to such tenets. Hope and expectation in these times, or any time for that matter, are what we can all use not only as comfort
but as inspiration. Her paintings are an oasis of peace, tranquility and serenity with enough depth and grit to hold your attention.
Yanelis Reynaldo Carson (born in Cuba in 1979) divides her life between her island, so dear to her, and
Esperanza, (Oil on canvas, 2022, 40” x 40”)
Fleur Blue (Oil on canvas, 30” x 30”, 2024): Within the soft pastels like cotton puffs of gentle, defused primary color forms of blue, red not quite pink, and yellow are a wash flowing together. The color pallete morphing into secondary shades of orange, purple, and a hint of green expressions state the abstraction of the work. The feeling brought forth leaves the viewers’ imagination free to ponder the intent of the piece as accents of darker hues force the eye to see the dimensionality of form. White is used as a negative space abetted by dark accents. The color, forms, and negative space link an oriental composition leaving to the viewer the final interpretation the abstract expression landscape.
Quebec where she makes her home in Montréal with her husband, acknowledged Grand Master in the field who is known internationally for a style that has been recognized internationally as Carsonism and their eleven-year-old son, Yann Anthony. They are a family of artists determined to leave their mark in the art area. Influenced by the Carsonism movement, Yanelis expresses a rare sensitivity where every color finds its proper place in a delicately balanced composition. Of course there are traces of her husband’s mosaic technique that she blends ever so subtly into her own deeply detailed shapeless yet distinctive forms that have been described as Rothko-esque but with far more detail and range of color. They sparkle with energy and a blend of soft power that are enticing testaments to creative individuality. She puts worlds together with a sensuality that imbues all the challenges of life on earth in such paintings as Espoir (Hope), Tresor (Treasure), Beauté (Beauty), Fraternité (Motherhood), Liberté (Liberty), Regard en Elle (Look At Her) and Harmonie (Harmony). These works blend a disciplined yet free-flowing style that is unique to this artist while dedicated to the tradition of boundary pushing artists who strive to be original in both thought and result.
The powerful Esperanza, for example in which a deep
Yanelis Reynaldo Carson does not seek to reproduce reality; she lets her works develop freely, guided by her intuition and the deep currents of her unconscious.
charcoal grey is surrounded by bursts of red bolts that keep the composition intact. In L’oiseau (The Bird, 2023) the form of a bird is deeply hidden though a small square, an eye perhaps, breaks through to reveal the subject matter. In Folie (a French phrase that means “eccentric madness”) bursts of red, deep blue, orange and green are super-imposed upon what seems to be a turquoise ocean, reflectng the artist’s thorough knowledge of pigments and paint preparation in an astonishing image of female creative force and confidence. This power runs through her entire body of work with intense yet intimate colors that command attention and stir the soul. Her paintings are bold and energetic, demanding attention wherever they appear. For this writer, finding traces (however miniscule) of her husband’s mosaic technique adds to the compendium. Lead white, precious vermilion and sumptuous shapes work together in a union in which the philosophica; tenet of the American poet Eli Siegel that beauty is “the making one of opposites.”
While all the paintings in this exhibit are challenging and provocative, tempered by a senstive touch of brush to canvas with colors that run the gamut of the paintings of art history, one that summarizes the entirety of the collection is Thoughts (Oil on Canvas, 2023). This 24” x
Between Two Worlds (2023), Oil on canvas 24” x 20”
Folie Folie Oil on canvas, 2023, 16” x 16”. The lyrical dance of color and contrast contained in this image suggests an emotional uplifting of spirit. The yin and yang divided by of aqua blue, and white halves of the piece allow for the balance between the brightly colored figures, and forms appearing to move about side-to-side top to bottom.
Vibrant color invites the viewer into the happy intent of the work.
72” a joyful masterpiece substantially expresses Yanelis Reynaldo Carson’s deepest feelings with abandon, embracing a plethora of human emotions that rejuvenate us in these somewhat dark and difficult times promoting serenity, tranquility and dare I say exuberance and hope. The use of gold is so powerful almost as if it was foil-stamped onto the surface. It is central to a vibrant cheerfulness and confidence this work exudes resulting in a happiness that supercedes any other emotion based on attributable colors found in buttery sunshine. Beyond sheer intellectualism, the bold
and energetic russets and reds build, capture and command soul-stirring attention. These hues, ranging from vibrant scarlet to deep, warm browns, evoke powerful emotions. They remind us of the passion, strength, and enduring beauty found in both nature and the human spirit. “The painter,” said Georges Braque, “thinks in forms and colors. The object is his poetic aim.” Red and its slightly subdued cousin are unabashedly bold and energetic, demanding attention wherever they appear.
Yanelis Reynaldo Carson does not seek to reproduce
The Bird Of Paradise Somber colors suggest the arising impression to be remembered after awakening from a dream. Two birdlike forms are possibly comprehended. One centered, and another to the top left. The almost birds are in a restricted environment of blue shifting clouds or the depths of the ocean. The figurative suggestions are contained by the composite of darker colors encircling the center of brighter blue. The impression dream scrape suggests the focus may enlighten the subject matter awakening continues.
Influenced by the Carsonism movement, an innovative style founded by her husband and mentor Charles Carson, Yanelis has imposed her own voice, combining the transparency and light characteristic of this style with a more personal, freer gestural style, where spontaneity guides every brushstroke. As part of this movement, she not only follows a tradition, but reinvents it through her own creative explorations.
Fine Art Magazine publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes presents Charles Carson with the Hero of Creativity Award in New York City
Harmonie (2023) Oil on canvasm 40” x 30”. The contrast between forms — some monotone in color to those created by swirls of deeper colors — cleanly worked together to create depth and compositional structure within this work. The viewers’ eye sees the merging of colorful rivers almost contained in this image reminiscing an ocean tidal sand pool. The context of this abstract work emphasizes change and motion in flux within a harmony of style and movement captured in this abstract piece.
Through her travels and numerous exhibitions in prestigious galleries in Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America, Yanelis has developed a unique mastery of color – the fruit of an artistic process matured by over two decades of experimentation.
“Art is man’s own creation. Art is the necessary and fatal product of finite intelligence, just as nature is the necessary and fatal product of finite intelligence. Art is to man what nature is to God.”
– Victor Hugo
L’Oiseau
Liberte: Compositional elements are used to force a partitioning vertical divide within this piece. A white form appears to be holding the chaos of the darker, red, brown, blue, amber yellow elements of color and form at bay. It’s as if the colors took up sides before coming to a to a stalemate.
reality; she lets her works develop freely, guided by her intuition and the deep currents of her unconscious. Each brushstroke translates intense emotions, capturing ephemeral fragments of life in a flood of bold colors. Her approach is marked by a natural fluidity, where pigments unfold in a constant dialogue between rhythm and harmony. Although her mentor and husband, Charles Carson, has influenced her work, Yanelis has forged her own path,
distinguished by expressive gestures and a vibrant palette. Through travels and numerous exhibitions in prestigious galleries in Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America, Yanelis has developed a unique mastery of color. Her works, like windows opening onto imaginary worlds, are the fruit of an artistic process matured by over two decades of experimentation. She juxtaposes vivid pigments with instinctive ease, creating dynamic compositions where each element finds its place with natural elegance.
To paraphrase Dali,
“The ideas of abstraction will work only when they are painted to perfection and in a traditional manner.”
A member of the Académie Internationale des BeauxArts du Québec, Yanelis Reynaldo Carson continues to captivate with his bold approach and ability to transcend the boundaries of abstraction. Her creations invite the viewer to enter a universe where emotions flow freely, offering a space for reflection and freedom of expression.
We at Fine Art magazine have followed Charles Carson’s career for decades and have written many thousands of words about him. We are well aware of his prowess, success and dedication. He demands of himself nothing short of perfection and one can see that while the couple approaches their work with different techniques and different styles –her paintings are poetic, his are novels – their shared interest in art and love for each other and their young son (who is a blooming talent in his own right) – makes them a family of artists to be enjoyed and collected. Definitely a force majeure in the annals of creativity of today, it is a pleasure and honor to pay tribute to this amazing and elegant woman whose very essenced comes through with every brush stroke. Long may she wave!
Written by Victor Forbes from
combined sources
Yann Anthony Carson, Yanelis, Charles