LABORATORY LAE - CENTRE FOR SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS AND EXPERTISES IN ARCHAEOLOGY AND WORKS OF ART OF GREAT MASTERS. - BORDEAUX, FRANCE - MASTER CHARLES CARSON.

LAURA MARBOT :

(Scientific Expert, Consulting Engineer at the Laboratoire d'analyses et d'expertises LAE)

My name is Laura Marbot. I am the scientific expert in Bordeaux, at the laboratory of analysis and expertise for archeology and works of art.

From the beginning, I discovered the painting of Charles Carson through the eyes of my uncle, Bernard Grelier, who is, in fact, a great lover of art, a collector and more importantly, a close friend of Charles Carson. So he was the one who introduced me to the artists' paintings. Well, I was immediately struck by an entirely unique touch, and undoubtedly professional bias played a role, but I was struck by the beauty of the material itself because in the laboratory where we work, well, the material itself is actually the core of our investigations of expertise and pigment analyses.

And I think that in the end, well, Charles Carson's talent lies in this ability to masterfully dramatize the subject and colors. And so, I would love to discover new paintings by Charles Carson during one of his next visits to Bordeaux.

BÉATRICE SZEPERTYSKI :

(Director and Founder of the Laboratoire d'analyses et d'expertises en archéologie et œuvres d'art, a laboratory for analysing archaeology and works of art that is better known as the Laboratoire LEA, scientific expert in art, Expert in the central office against the trafficking of cultural property)

Hello, I am Béatrice Szepertyski. I am responsible for laboratory analyses and expertise in archeology and works of art, better known as the Laboratoire LEA. Since 1993 we have been located in the Chartrons disctrict, right in the heart of Bordeaux.

Our job is to autheticate works of art, that is, to make a scientific study of a work of art. We analyze the material that defines the essence of an artist in order to thwart forgeries. We analyse the composition of the constituent materials of a work of art in order to discover the gestures, the experience, and the creativity of the artist.

I believe that our work is very rewarding and that it's an opportunity because we get to meet great creators, great artists and beautiful works, which can sometimes be of very humble origin. This is the case, for example, of the first drawings in a decorated cave or the primitive writings of an ancient manuscript. But this can also be a brushstroke of a Leonardo da Vinci or the touch of a Van Gogh, a Matisse, a Monet or a Chagall. So many great creators, great artists, who in their own way, help shape our evolution and humanity. I like to say, quite simply, that the works of these great masters are also important and bring as much information as the equations of Albert Einstein.

So, you ask me, through all this, where does the work of Charles Carson stand ? Well again, we are very fortunate. To be able to know such an artist during his lifetime is extremely rewarding, because we know for a fact that his work will shape our evolution and humanity.

Charles Carson is a great creator. His work is inimitable, personal, spontaneous. I don't know of any other work that resembles his. It is halfway between abstract and figurative art, it is not part of any movement or trend. His work is a superposition of materials, of shapes, colors, drawings that create a world of its own that is visually very rich, so rich that it even creates a world of sound.

To be copied is the fate of great artists and Charles Carson will not escape this. His work is extremely unique, and we know from experience that it is very complex to copy his work, but it is also what defines the quality of a great artist, in this case a great Canadian artist.