Artist Feature: Fernando Carpaneda
"Detailed sculptures set inside the Garden of Eden"
Editor’s Note:
Aside from incredible portraiture, Fernando Carpaneda has mastered the creation of carefully detailed figure sculptures set inside miniature worlds. This series focuses on four dioramas of the Garden of Eden. Acrylic, clay, and human hair are combined flawlessly to draw the viewer closer. Every aspect appears lifelike, from the visually flowing waters and vivid green flora, all the way down to the tiny apples and genitalia.
By depicting a masculine gendered pair alongside the traditional dynamic, Carpaneda frames both gay and straight relationships as natural. Both pairs appear connected and in love, and both choose to eat the apple of original sin together.
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Fernando Carpaneda
My sculptures are experimental works that play with different mediums and emotions. 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 are of people I am familiar with.
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. My intention is for my works to reach an audience that appreciates art, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Recent Exhibitions
"Long Island Biennial 2020".
The Heckscher Museum of Art. Huntington, Long Island, New York, NY.
"ON OUR BACKS: The Revolutionary Art of Queer Sex Work".
The Leslie Lohman Museum of Art. Soho, New York, NY.
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 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.
Website: www.carpaneda.com
Insta @fernandocarpaneda