Artist Resume

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My sculptures and paintings are experimental works on material and feelings. I think I can explore new possibilities sculpting the human body and new forms. I worked for 15 years with assemblages before starting sculpting and through the assemblages I became a sculptor. It was a kind of a natural process. Most of my sculptures and paintings are portraits of friends, ex-lovers, sex workers and random guys. 

I transform my sculptures into a kind of reliquary, where you can identify several references to the models; Phrases, poetry, human hair... I followed this path because I wanted to create works that have a consequential meaning to me and a strong connection with my models, and so, my past experiences are always present. I wish my works can reach an audience that appreciates art regardless of being gay or straight. 

My goal with my art is also to show other sides within the GLBTQ culture and society in general. By that, to open the minds of the audience to other possibilities within gay and contemporary art. My works speak of freedom, of being what you are, without fear of assuming your ideas and ideals.

Fernando Carpaneda 

His voracious engagement in the cause of diversity and punk culture led him to exhibit at Art Basel in Miami, the Tom of Finland Foundation in California, The Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis and The Leslie Lohman Museum of Art in New York to name a few. His works are included in multiple art collections, galleries and museums, also appearing in publications as The Best of Punk Globe Magazine, alongside Debbie Harry, Jamie Oliver (UK SUBS), Sid Vicious, Earl Slick, John Lydon, The Adicts, Glen Matlock, Joe Dallesandro, Andy Warhol, Pauley Perrete also in Treasures Of Gay Art, a book by Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, featuring Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Keith Haring, Jean Cocteau and many others. In June 18, 2012, some of his works were selected and exhibited at Times Square in New York, during the opening of the exhibition Art Takes Times Square. The works were exhibited in 10m² LED panels covering 23 floors (Nasdaq screens, Thomson and Reuters, Clear Channel Spectacolor, and A2aMedia's Port Authority) the exhibition was seen by over 1 million people.  

Awards

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.

Movie

Fernando Carpaneda Sculptures Appear in the Award-Winning Film, "The Nearest Human Being", Directed by Marco Coppola. The film won an award for best feature at the Manhattan Film Festival.

​The Art of Fernando Carpaneda by Nicholas Forrest 
 

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 utilises 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 http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many others. (biography, arts news)