Parcours Magazine - Art & art of living, number 71 - Paths Publishing (ISSN 19 158 866) - November 2010- February 2011

Charles Carson

The will to leave one’s mark

« After all these years having closely followed the career of Charles Carson, I can affirm that the the Canadien master has left a profound mark on the history of painting in the first décade of the 21st century. »

Caroline Bruens,
president of l'Académie Internationale des Beaux-Arts du Québec

More than thirty years ago, at the beginning of the 1980’s, Carson devoted himself professionally to his art in a traditional manner at the outset, getting inspiration from his environment. His first paintings were figurative but, unsatisfied with the results, the artist created an extremely personal semi figurative style, whose qualities I was able to appreciate. Since then, his style and pictorial language have continued to assert themselves and his fame has continued to grow. Having followed his evolution and career on the international stage, I have observed this continual rejuvenation that continues to this day.
He has participated in numerous prestigious international exhibitions: in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and in South America where he resided for more than 10 years. « Seeing an artist we believe in honored by a life-sized bronze statue in a foreign land touched us and brought us great satisfaction, dare I say pride. »

Parcours magazine - Charles Carson,The will to leave one’s mark, page 78

Today, Carson is internationally renowned for his luminous, brilliantly colored creations, baptized “carsonism” by art experts and historians by reason of their creativity, innovation, transparence and juxtaposition of colors, executed with force and grace. He has created not only a new style, but a new manner of painting, employing an original language that differs from the trends, genres and styles generally found on the art scene. His works are found among public and private collections in many countries. But the artist has not limited himself to “carsonist” paintings.

Charles Carson constantly analyses, experiments, studies and searches before giving in to his intuition. He often expresses his emotions in a style that is completely abstract, evoking memories of a time when stained glass windows worked their fascination upon him. He expertly and spontaneously transfers the colored paste to the pallet knife. In these moments, the artist is guided by inspiration in its purest expression. The light that he transposes and the chromatic quality of the completed work reveal the extent to which he was imbued, in past times, by the strength of the equatorial light.

Champlain Charest, in commenting on Charles Carson’s work, observed as follows: « The strokes of the pallet knife and progression to a well-defined place create an order, a focal point converging towards the centre of the painting, a feature unique to abstract artists. Thus, to me, the light comes from behind the painting, passes through it and projects to the viewer. » […] « Not only is he skilled in the disposition of colors, but his paintings speak to me. Among other things, I like the balance of the masses and the transparency. I am particularly fond of his paintings in the Carsonism style, which will bring him great honor…»*1

Parcours magazine - Charles Carson, The will to leave one’s mark, page 80

Christian Sorriano, president of Drouot Cotation in Paris, expert with the International Union of experts in 2009, concluded as follows in his expert evaluation of numerous works of the artist: « Shunning popular trends and cheap visual effects, Charles Carson reveals the many unique facets of his immense poetic skill in each and every one of his paintings. They offer a breath of life, his life, questioning and delighting the minds and trained eyes of connoisseurs. Charles Carson has staked his claim to artistic posterity, for today one proclaims “it’s a Carson” in the same manner that one refers to the works of immortal artists like Picasso, Matisse, Warhol or Basquiat. »*2

A brilliant analysis of “Carsonism” presented by Fine Art magazine in the Spring of 2009, allows collectors to discover a side of the artist that only the experienced pen and incisive views of Jamie Ellen Forbes and Victor Bennet Forbes can reveal. A literary gem. Charles Carson is featured on the front cover among The Heroes of Creativity, « In a mosaic technique work like Vibrations florales there is so much happening. How does one consolidate miniscule droplets of floral energy into such a complex solution of color? He is not revealing any secrets, any more than you would know if Pollack had a plan when he dripped all that paint, or if Vincent knew exactly where he was going when he produced the first star in Starry Night. No one can say for sure, but what Carson does share with the aforementioned artists is a total devotion to painting. » *3

A Charles Carson painting is featured on a wine label of the winery Nudant en bourgogne. - Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 2009

Inducted as “Master of fine arts” into the Académie Internationale des Beaux-Arts du Québec in 2007 and honored as “Artist of 2009” at the ACAEMIA XXI galas held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Charles Carson finds new ways to surprise us, not only by his painting, but also by his involvement in different events through which he channels his tremendous energy.

« Charles Carson is without a shadow of a doubt one of the world’s great artists. »

*1- Extract from the biography CARSON, sa vie, son oeuvre, « Anne Richer meets... Champlain Charest, doctor, restaurant owner, noted wine collector, passionate art collector ». http://www.iparcours.com/champlain-charest-suite

*2- Certified Quoted Values 2011-2012 as per market value – by Cotation agréée 2011-2012 au cours du marché de l’art – by Christian Sorriano.

*3- Extract from a text by Jamie Ellin Forbes et Victor Bennet Forbes, Charles Carson « Heroes of creativity » Carson… to the ism, Fine Art Magazine, Spring 2009 USA.

*4- A Charles Carson painting is featured on a wine label of the winery Nudant en bourgogne. www.domaineNudant.com