Gustavo Fernandes was born in 1964. He has developed an academic and professional career in Canada and Portugal over a period of 27 years, largely dedicated to painting, which led him to exhibit and establish professional connections in several countries. He studied in Montreal at the Mission Renaissance School of Fine Arts and attended the Visual and Graphic Arts program at Dawson College. He specialized in the techniques and methods of Betty Edwards and in “Drawing from the Artist Within” and “The Natural Way to Draw” by Nicolaïdes. He received professional training under the guidance of portrait artist Francisco de Oliveira. Self-taught, creative, and bold, his work highlights objects, landscapes, people, and details that give it a distinctly hyperrealistic quality. Gustavo Fernandes persistently seeks the freedom desired by the artist and practices it systematically. To achieve this, he works through paints, brushes, bronze, and flashes, moving with great skill between painting and drawing, as well as sculpture and photography. His color palette is diverse, using a wide range of tones and shades applied with rigorous technique and a strong, confident line. About his art, he states: “When I begin a work, I live for it and only rest when I reach perfection—the highest level of realism possible. I enjoy creating works that engage with people’s lives, their everyday experiences, and what is essential to them.” The works of Gustavo Fernandes have been part of numerous solo and group exhibitions and are included in various private, institutional, and public collections. He is regularly invited to give lectures on art.

Public Works: Murals of the Parish Church of Pêro Pinheiro; Altar wall and panels of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Cabo in Linda-a-Velha; Sculpture “The Dolphin” on the Cascais waterfront; Decorative panels at Hotel Marquês de Pombal in Lisbon; Hotel “The Yeatman” in Gaia; Epic Sana, Luanda. Sculpture “Hand Evolution”, Saldanha, Lisbon. Museums: Water Museum – EPAL; João Mário Museum in Alenquer; Presidential Museum of Astana, Kazakhstan; Aveiro Museum; Bairrada Wine Museum in Anadia, where he is represented with a painting dedicated to wine measuring 700 x 200 cm.

Among his major international exhibitions, we highlight: The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the “50 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” – Lisbon; “Portuguese Contemporary Painting Towards the Coming Century” – Brussels, Belgium; “Mostra di Arti Applicate Contemporanea”; “OKA – Objects with Soul” (Portuguese Presidency of the European Union – “Travels in Portugal”) – Varese and Milan, Italy

Since 2014 – Artist represented by Plus One Gallery, London