Carl Yonder is a self-taught visionary surrealist who lives and works in Maryland. Growing up as a military brat, he moved frequently across the United States and internationally—an itinerant childhood that made art one of the few constants in his life. Encouraged early by his parents and teachers, he developed into an artist who learns primarily through exploration, experimentation and immersion rather than formal training.

Deeply influenced by Transcendental Meditation, sensory deprivation experiences and years of travel, Yonder’s work maps his own journey through the subconscious. His images often feel like artifacts from inner landscapes—echoes of ancient cultures, prehistorical mythologies and esoteric rituals. Though symbol-rich, he deliberately resists explaining any one meaning. For him, art should remain expansive, not boxed into a single interpretation. His goal is simple: inspire viewers to become storytellers, creating narratives that emerge from their own emotional and intuitive responses.

Yonder has exhibited extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. In 2020, he received the Curator’s Choice Award from Greenpoint Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been featured in exhibitions with I Like Your Work, the Packard Group National Exhibition, the Torpedo Factory Art Centre in Virginia and the Maritime Arts Museum in Solomons, Maryland. His illustrations and paintings have appeared in group shows across Montgomery County, at the Delaplaine Arts Centre, and in multiple regional galleries.

He has presented three solo exhibitions to date:
• Montgomery County, Maryland (2018)
• Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn (2021)
• Washington County, Maryland (2024)

His current solo exhibition, Caravan, is on view at Gallery Blue Door in Baltimore through January 2025. In early 2024, he published The Storyteller, a comprehensive book documenting several years of his artistic development.

Across all aspects of his practice, Yonder remains dedicated to making art that invites introspection, imagination and personal narrative. He builds visual worlds where viewers can pause, trust their instincts and step into their own version of the story.