Fernando Carpaneda

Fernando Carpaneda is a self-taught artist whose practice is grounded in close observation of people and lived experience. He did not grow up in a household that formally emphasized art or literature, but creativity was present through everyday acts of attention, storytelling, and labor. That environment sharpened his awareness of gesture, contradiction, and emotional nuance, elements that later became central to his work. He began painting at the age of ten, not as a career decision but as a way to understand the world around him.

Over time, instinct gave way to discipline, though the intuitive core of his practice has remained intact. Being self-taught afforded Carpaneda an early sense of freedom that continues to shape how he works. His artistic development has come through sustained studio practice, trial and error, and direct engagement with life rather than institutional training.

Experimentation is essential to his process. Throughout his career, Carpaneda has worked across painting, drawing, sculpture, engraving, installation, and miniature forms. Each medium presents a different kind of resistance and intimacy, and moving between them allows him to remain attentive and honest in his work. Curiosity drives these shifts, pushing him into unfamiliar territory rather than settling into repetition.

Recurring themes in Carpaneda’s work include the body, identity, sexuality, faith, punk and underground culture, LGBTQIA+ experience, and social justice. The body functions as both political and emotional terrain, a site where questions of visibility, belonging, and exclusion are made explicit. Influences such as Hans Bellmer, Robert Mapplethorpe, Keith Haring, and the broader punk ethos inform his refusal to soften difficult truths or prioritize comfort over clarity.

His process typically begins with observation. He works with live models, sketches extensively, and occasionally incorporates photography. Due to allergies, he now works exclusively with acrylic paint, a limitation that has sharpened his approach to transparency and layering. Solitude, consistency, and time are essential conditions for his work, though he does not rely on fixed rituals.

Carpaneda draws constant inspiration from his surroundings. Urban spaces, churches, underground environments, and everyday encounters surface throughout his paintings and installations. One of his most demanding projects, The Stations of the Cross, consisted of sixty-seven hand-carved miniature sculptures arranged in fourteen wooden boxes. The installation required sustained patience and reinforced his belief in slow, meticulous labor as a form of devotion.

Visibility is central to Carpaneda’s artistic intent. His work affirms bodies and identities that have historically been marginalized or erased, aiming to create moments of recognition and, at times, discomfort that open space for empathy and dialogue. A significant milestone in his career was the sale of a painting at Sotheby’s in New York, a validation of a practice that has long existed outside mainstream frameworks.

Looking ahead, Carpaneda has an exhibition scheduled at the Arkell Museum in 2026, continuing his engagement with museums and historically grounded institutions. He measures success through integrity, longevity, and impact rather than trends, and remains committed to ambitious exhibitions, installations, and publications.

His personal life is inseparable from his work. Relationships, faith, aging, love, loss, and activism all inform his practice. He recharges through music, reading, walking, and spending time with other artists’ work. Open to collaboration, especially across disciplines, Carpaneda also founded Carpazine, a magazine dedicated to supporting and amplifying other artists. Across all facets of his work, he remains committed to dialogue, resistance, and connection, guided by curiosity, honesty, and fearlessness.