Artist Fernando Carpaneda has been selected for the 2022 Long Island Biennial, at The Heckscher Museum of Art in New York, and the 2022, Acrylic International Biennial Exhibition at the Kenosha Public Museum, in Wisconsin.
I sometimes come across artists that I just have to let the world know about and Fernando Carpaneda is one of those artists, but be warned, because Carpaneda’s work is very confronting and will be not be to everyone’s taste. Those willing to keep an open mind and explore Carpaneda’s work will be glad they did because he is a truly amazing artist. A brave artist too. Brave enough to use rent boys, thieves, punks, goths, homeless people, and other unsavoury types as the subject of his work. If you are intrigued then please read on. When I first saw a picture of one of Carpaneda’s works I didn’t know what I was looking at. What I saw looked like a photo of a person but had a surreal element to it that suggested that there was more to Carpaneda’s work than the image revealed. As soon as I found out that I was looking at a clay sculpture I was completely blown away. The level of detail and the amount of work put into each sculpture is quite astonishing especially for a clay sculpture. To give each sculpture a personal association with the person they depict, Carpaneda uses objects connected to that person in the sculpture. Carpaneda says about his work on his website that: “All his portraits are like a relic, a holy place, a moment caught in time. He uses objects that have a connection to the portrayed person to composing his work, such as cigarette butts, condoms, beer cans, underwear, semen, empty toothpaste boxes. In other words, things that are part of these people’s real world, and his own. He uses such objects and remains as a beginning for his portraits” Most of the people we see on a day to day basis whether it be at work or at social event dress and prepare their appearance so that the look as one would expect a normal person leading a normal life to look. Most of the people that Carpaneda depicts, however, dress and prepare their appearance in a way that reflects their true personality. These are the sort of people one would normally want to stare at but would try and refrain from doing so because we are taught that it is rude to stare. Instead of depicting the perfect male figure that most people are familiar with as a result of classical sculptors, Carpaneda utilizes classical methods and materials to construct highly detailed analogues of what many would consider to be the outcasts of society. A classical sculpture of a nude male figure is an image that almost everyone is familiar with and is able to view without feeling uncomfortable, embarrassed or repulsed. A sexualised image of a homosexual male, however, is a totally different story. Carpaneda’s sculptures challenge our perceptions of gender and identity as well as questioning the labels that society put on people who do not conform to the accepted norm. Yes, his work is confronting and will not be to every one’s liking but it is undeniably the work of a talented artist who is not afraid of challenging the boundaries of artistic practice and confronting viewers with the issues of stigma and division in modern society.
Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of artmarketblog.com writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many others. July 6, 2009 (biography, arts news)
"Punk Rodin" Reinterpretation of Rodin Sculpture "The Age of Bronze" Water Based Clay, Mixed Medium.
2022 - The Heckscher Museum of Art.
Long Island Biennial
2022 - Kenosha Public Museum.
The Acrylic International Biennial.
2019 - Leslie Lohman Museum of Art
"On Our Backs: The Revolutionary Art of Queer Sex Work"
2019 - Award of Excellence in Painting by Art League of Long Island, NY.
2019 - Honorable Mention in Painting by Huntington Arts Council, Long Island, NY.
2016 - Juror's Choice for Visual Art at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.
Fernando Carpaneda Sculptures Appear in the Award-Winning Film, "The Nearest Human Being". Directed by Marco Coppola, the film features actors Charlie Hofheimer, Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things), Robert W. Smith, Dan Shaked. The film won the best feature at the Manhattan Film Festival in 2019.
Fernando Carpaneda Sculptures Was Featured in "On Our Backs: The Revolutionary Art of Queer Sex Work". This exhibition explores the history of queer sex work culture, and its intimate ties to art and activism. Coined by bisexual activist, Carol Leigh, aka. The Scarlot Harlot in 1978, ‘sex work’ is broadly defined as
Carpazine: How did you end up on Long Island? Tell us a little about your early career and the influences that led you to where you are today.
FC: I come from an Italian family but I was born in Brazil. I had my first exhibition of paintings at the age of 13 in the early 80’s in Brasilia: the capital of Brazil. I came to Long Island by chance. At one of the first exhibitions I did in New York, I met an artist who invited me to visit his studio on Long Island, and I ended up moving there. My work has always portrayed the underground scene, the punk scene, and the LGBTQIA scene. In early 1995, I got in touch with CBGB, and ended up scheduling some exhibitions at CB’s 313 Gallery, which was the CBGB art gallery. At that time, the gallery organized an exhibition called "Back to the Bowery" which brought together some of the remaining artists from Andy Warhol's famous The Factory, as well as new artists who portrayed the city's underground scene. It was a historic exhibition, and where I met Billy Name (He created the design for The Factory, Andy Warhol Superstars, and was Warhol’s photographer) as well as several other artists from the 70’s. I ended up becoming friends with Billy Name and we stayed in touch until his death in 2016. Various artists from The Factory, like Lou Reed, Candy Darling, and Joe Dallesandro lived here on Long Island in the 60’s and 70’s. I think Joe Dallesandro was living in Babylon at that time.The CBGB exhibition definitely opened several doors for me on the city's art circuit, and it was a turning point in my international career.
Carpazine: You had an exhibition of your work in Times Square, right? How was that exhibition?
FC: I exhibited paintings in Times Square. The paintings were portraits of friends and acquaintances, my own superstars. The works were shown on giant bright LED screens and were displayed on the screens of NASDAQ, Thomson Reuters, Clear Channel Spectacolor, and A2a MEDIA’s Port Authority. The opening of the event was attended by singer Twin Shadow, DJ’s AndrewAndrew, and musician Questlove from the band The Roots. The host of the night was Jimmy Fallon of NBC's Late Night show and the event was organized by Art Takes Times Square. It was a unique experience.
Carpazine: How was it to have your sculptures in the film The Nearest Human Being?
FC: It was a fantastic experience to see my sculptures in director Marco Coppola’s film. It won an award for best feature at the Manhattan Film Festival, and it is incredible. While filming, my friend: actor Robert W. Smith, made the connection between me and director Marco Coppola. The director liked my work, and he included my sculptures in the movie. Also, it was great to meet Charlie Hofheimer. I met him by accident when I arrived to leave my sculpture on the film set. So, I saw this guy there, and said, “Hi, how are you?” and shook his hand and talked to him a little bit. It was only after that that I realized it was Charlie Hofheimer. LOL. He was very cool. Charlie is in two of my favorite films. Black Hawk Down and The Village. I was happy to meet him.
Carpazine: How do you view the reactions from the conservative part of society in relation to artistic manifestations in the contemporary world and issues such as sexuality and discrimination?
FC: Art aims to promote freedom of expression and knowledge, however, not everyone has the knowledge and sensitivity to understand or discuss the subject. Conservatism and lack of information are recurrent. Our society is formed by people with different realities and lifestyles and we have no right to compel people to follow our reality, just as no one has the right to impose theirs on us. Human sexuality is complex and it is not up to anyone to judge it. I know people who have been sexually abused by pastors, priests, and family members and they obviously don't see the world the same way I do - If an artist's sexuality bothers you, think twice before criticizing or discriminating against it , because not everyone has had the same life as you.
Carpazine: Can you tell me a little about the Long Island biennial?
FC: The Long Island Biennial, is an exhibition held by the Heckscher Museum of Art, and had his first edition in 2010. The Long Island Biennial offers professional artists a unique opportunity to share their work through a prestigious exhibition and offers a unique space for visitors. This year the museum celebrates its 100th anniversary, and the proposal of the biennial on this occasion was aimed at showing contemporary artists residing on Long Island. For the first time, most artists will exhibit two or three works of art, presenting visitors with a more complete picture of their most recent works. I thought it was incredible to have been selected, and I think it is a positive point for my work, in such a unique moment in which we live. At a time when minorities are persecuted, I think it is a victory to participate in this exhibition.
Carpazine: Tell me about your sculptures, you did some reinterpretations with classic art scenes. What was your inspiration to reinterpret Rodin's sculpture (The Age of Bronze)?
FC: I always loved Rodin's sculptures, and I always thought of making a hyper-realistic version of one of his works and I ended up being inspired by the work The Age of Bronze. My version was inspired by Keanu Reeves. I turned him into Punk Rodin. I have always loved Keanu Reeves, I like his character, his personality, and attitude as a person. I was inspired by a phase in his movie My Own Private Idaho which is one of my favorites. Eroticism for me is something natural and I show that in my works.
Carpazine: How do you see the role of tattoos in Punk Rodin?
FC: Some tattoos on Punk Rodin sculpture refer to the relationship between Rodin and Camile Claudel.
Carpazine: Homoerotic Art has always been part of the underground in the 20th century, recently it started to boom and to be part of the mainstream. How do you see this interaction between amateurs and queer art? Not all nude is art … or is it?
FC: I think that interaction and the boom in homoerotic material is happening in the same proportion as the boom that abstract, geometric or conceptual painting had. At the beginning of these movements they also suffered from the interaction of amateurs with contemporary art … not all contemporary art work is art … or is it?
Fernando Carpaneda at The Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, New York.
Fernando Carpaneda art works was on display at Times Square June 18, 2012 in giant screens bright LEDs during the opening of the exhibition ART TAKES TIMES SQUARE. The scale of the exhibition was extraordinary and seen by more than half a million people.
Six acrylic paintings by artist Fernando Carpaneda were published in the book, My Gay Eye / Mein schwules Auge #19 - "SEX UTOPIA". The German anthology has been published once a year since 2003. The book has 400 pages with works by 70 artists, including Pierre et Gilles, Bruce LaBruce, EVA & ADELE, Slava Mogutin and Tom of Finland.
Artist Fernando Carpaneda was selected for the 2022 Long Island Biennial, at The Heckscher Museum of Art. He is one of the 58 out of 248 artists who submitted works for consideration reflecting the broad and diverse range of work being created on Long Island.
Artist Fernando Carpaneda was selected for the 2022, Acrylic International Biennial Juried Exhibition at the Kenosha Public Museum. The art work, will be on display from August 20 through November 6, 2022.
Fernando Carpaneda CBGB's Exhibitions. Back to the Bowery. The Bowery Electric Festival A Tribute to Joey Ramone. Vinnie Wartlip Retrospective
Group Exhibition March 9 - April 8,2005. Colossal Art Exhibition MARCH 2005! BACK TO THE BOWERY rare never before exhibited 70's era photographs featuring: THE RAMONES , THE DEAD BOYS & more by JOHN SANTANELLO Also original photographs featuring: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO ANDY WARHOL by famed photog BILLY NAME & presenting THE ARTWORK OF WALTER STEDING plus avant-garde violin and PUNKS,RENT BOYS, JUNKIES, THEIVES, and OUTCASTS sculptures by Brazilian artist FERNANDO CARPANEDA and Pioneer Punk Photographer ROBERTA BAYLEY also Rock and Roll Photographs and Pin-Ups by MARK SWEENEY and NYC STREET PHOTO by famed phantom photographer JOSH WERTHEIMER plus "The Man Who Shot the 70's" the infamous MICK ROCK and Interview Magazine/ Warhol Photographer Night Magazine founder and designer and builder of the electric painting machine ANTON PERICH It Happened in Monterey author and photographer ELAINE MAYES 1980's Nightlife Photographer SHARON SMITH The Mythic Punk and Beyond Photographer: GODLIS. Celebrity News www.cbgb.com/
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New York, New York, United States
