B. 1997 in Tampa, Florida; currently lives in Cary, NC

Kristen Valle Yann began her formal studies in art making at the Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida. While at SFCC she enrolled in a nature inspired painting and drawing class that fueled her love for Classical Realism. My professor at SFCC had a deep love for the classics and a high respect for technical training. In my opinion, there is nothing quite like painting from life. Taking the three dimensional and translating it into two dimensional can be absolutely magical. To know that the only thing standing between my perception of reality and reality itself is the brush in my hand — It’s pretty powerful. Painting from direct observation connects me with my subject in a way that a photograph simply cannot.” After two years of study Yann transferred to The College of Fine Arts at Florida State University, Tallahassee where she received a BFA in Studio Art in 2018. Shortly after graduation Yann married her high school sweetheart and began seeking ways to further enrich her education in classical technique. During this time she busily completed figurative commissions and taught high-school level art. In 2019 she discovered the work of Alex Venezia, Louis Carr and Michael Klein at East Oaks Studio in Cary, NC and was accepted into their 2020 internship program.

Yann credits the earnest beginnings of her grandparents and father who emigrated from Cuba to the United States in 1969 as being influential in how she lives her life and how she approaches her art. “I was raised to be thankful for the little things we easily take for granted. Often, gratitude rises to awareness in moments of stillness. For me, painting creates that space. It invites me to be still, look intently, and take in the colors, shapes and beauty before me” With a joyful appreciation for the God-given beauty and wonder of nature Yann creates beautifully composed arrangements of realistic imagery that represent her faith and love of humanity. Although she is well versed in the art of still life the human figure has always captivated her imagination of which she excels. Yann’s emotive oil paintings of young women placed in ordinary settings of contemporary life reveal a natural instinct and understanding of the line of beauty however it is the slight changes in hue and saturation that come together as beautiful flesh tones that draw the viewer deeper into her world of spirit and form.

Kristen Valle Yann currently lives and paints full time in Cary, NC