ABOUT
THE ARTIST

Kristen Valle Yann (b. 1997) is a Cuban-American representational oil painter based in Orlando, Florida. Raised in a rural town just north of Tampa, she developed a deep sensitivity to the quiet beauty of the natural world and the changing landscapes that shaped her upbringing.

In 2018, Yann received a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting and Drawing from Florida State University. She continued her training as a resident artist at East Oaks Studio before establishing a full-time studio practice. Working across portrait, figure, landscape, and still life, her paintings are characterized by careful observation, contemplative stillness, and a sensitivity to light, atmosphere, and the passage of time.

Her current body of work, FL GRL, explores the disappearing landscapes of rural Florida through themes of memory, impermanence, and longing. Through representational painting, Yann reflects on the ways places continue to inhabit us long after they have changed.

Yann’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is held in public and private collections. She continues to live and work in Central Florida.

EDUCATION

2020 - 2021: Artist in Residence, East Oaks Studio, Raleigh NC
2018: Bachelor's in Fine Arts: Studio Art, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL

EXHIBITIONS & SHOWS

2024: Almenara Art Prize Exhibition, Real Círculo de la Amistad, Córdoba, Spain
2024: Mountain Oyster Club's 55th Annual Contemporary Western Art Show, Tucson Arizona
2024: Let There Be Light, (Performance & Exhibition) Dr Phillips Center, Orlando FL
2023: Hudson River Fellowship Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2023: HRF Fellowship Showcase, Studio 44, Millbrook NY
2023: 12th Annual Summer Exhibition, Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2023: Kristen Valle Yann: Dust to Dust (Solo Exhibition), Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2022: 11th Annual Small Works Exhibition, Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2022: Life Framed: Everyday Objects and the Still Life, WJB Gallery, Tallahassee FL
2022: In Real Time, Gadsden Arts Center & Museum, Gadsden FL
2022: 11th Annual Summer Exhibition, Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2022: Bringing In The May, Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2021: 10th Annual Small Works Show, Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2021: 10th Annual Small Works Show, Collins Galleries, Cape Cod MA
2021: Momento Mori, Sugarlift Gallery, New York, NY
2018: Peripheral Vision, Museum of Fine Art at Florida State University, Tallahassee FL

AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS

2024: Art Renewal Center Annual Salon, Finalist
2024: Almenara Art Prize 2024, Finalist
2024: Arts Fellowship Orlando, Fellowship Recipient
2024: The Portrait Society of America, 2024 Gordon Wetmore Legacy scholarship
2023: Hudson River Fellowship with Grand Central Atelier, Fellowship Recipient
2023: BoldBrush Painting Competition, July Finalist
2022: The Portrait Society of America, The Art of the Portrait Scholarship Recipient
2021: The Portrait Society of America Future Generation Competition, Fourth Place
2017: 29th Annual Art in Gadsden Juried Exhibition, Second Place

PUBLICATIONS

2026: Southwest Art Magazine: 21 under 31 Segment
2024: Realism Today: Suggestions of Hope and Light: A Contemporary Realism Still Life
2023: Fine Art Connoisseur: Five to Watch Segment
2023: The Art of the Portrait Newsletter: New Work From Members Segment
2022: Epoch Times: Painting for God: Kristen Valle Yann’s Blossoming Art
2021: International Artist Magazine: The Future Generation Segment