"I try to infuse my experiences, my travels, and my studies, into the way I see a still life, a moment in a sublime environment done with the techniques of the Spanish and Italian master painters."

It is with this vision in mind that Carin Gerard blends the classical realism of the Renaissance era with the spirit and spontaneity of contemporary art. Combining the wonder of light and shadow, the richly textured detail of fabrics and metals, the patina on old terra cotta urns, something centuries old next to something living, she creates beauty out of the ordinary.

The passion for art and painting was instilled in Carin Gerard as a child, when she watched her artist mother, Beverly Gerard, painting her canvasses, and often painted right alongside her. At a very early age she knew that her ambition-her dream-was to become a fine art painter. Her mother's death, when Carin was eleven, only fueled the young girl's desire and intensified her dedication to art.

After Gerard graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, she began her travels to Europe. In the great museums of Rome, Venice, Florence, London, Paris, Amsterdam, she studied and was inspired by the timeless beauty of the Old Masters. Exploring the ancient cities and towns of Italy and France, she absorbed their sights, sounds, smells, flavors, colors, textures and "old world" charm. Gerard spent endless hours avidly combing the antique flea markets throughout Italy and France in search of special props for her still-lifes.

Determined to keep expanding her artistic horizon, and to paint in a style that had more meaning and depth, 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 respected Florentine ateliers. While studying with Cecil and living in an 19th century Chianti farmhouse, Gerard created a series of eighteen paintings which she titled: Quattro Stagioni, incorporating the four seasons into her still-life art. The breathtaking landscape of the surrounding countryside, the charm of the Tuscan villages, the changing seasons, the burnished colors of autumn, the sunflowers of summer, are the soul and spirit of this unique collection of paintings, which had a successful exhibition at Studio Restauro in Florence, in 1996.

In 1997, gerard began to exhibit with the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco. She has exhibited with John Pence every year following. Two solo exhibitions took place in Japan in 1998 and 1999. Gerard Has also exhibited at the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery in New york and at the Diane Nelson Gallery in Laguna Beach, in December 2000, Gerard was chosen to represent the United States in the Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea in Florence, Italy in December 2001.

Since then Gerard has continued to exhibit with the John Pence Gallery. In 2008 she was selected to represent still life artists in an exhibition titled Contemporary Still Lifes at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California. That same year Gerard was commissioned to paint a classical still life for the new Montage Beverly Hills Hotel.

Over the last eight years, along with private commissions and exhibitions, Gerard continues to return to Florence, Italy several times a year. Florence has always served as a source of inspiration and rejuvenation for Gerard. She now owns a studio there in a newly restored 14th century palazzo—Palazzo Tornabuoni—once owned by the Medici family. The palazzo itself is a piece of art history through its magnificently restored frescoes, and Gerard finds living and painting there a creatively exciting and fulfilling experience.

"I'm so grateful that my mother's love and passion for art was passed on to me. Painting is something I have to do. It is the truest expression of who I am."

Biography Page 1