Giovani Caramello (Santo André, SP, Brazil, 1990) is a sculptor whose practice is devoted to figurative hyperrealism. His process combines digital and manual procedures: he begins with a drawing (inspired by images from the internet or by people around him), scans the image and takes it into 3D modeling software, where he adds detail. He then prints the pieces in filament at full scale and applies layers of plasticine over that base to build textures and anatomical detail. Only then does he make the mold and produce casts in resin or other materials, followed by hand-painting each piece.
Although his formal vocabulary engages with the tradition of hyperrealism, Caramello avoids complete illusion. His figures deviate from natural human proportions, their scales range from miniature to monumental, and the polychrome resin finish gives them a quality akin to three-dimensional illustration. This departure prevents the viewer from focusing solely on the virtuosity of execution, instead inviting attention to what the figures convey through their posture and, above all, their facial expressions—the narrative key to his compositions, since the artist does not situate his characters within settings or in relation to other figures. The central theme of his poetic research is impermanence: the transience of lived time, solitude as a shared experience, and the fragility of the human condition in the face of the passage of years.
He has held the solo exhibitions Introspeccion at Casa do Olhar Luiz Sacilotto (Santo André, SP, 2016); Meditation on Impermanence at OMA Gallery (São Bernardo do Campo, SP, 2016); and Impermanence at the Museu de Santo André Dr. Octaviano Armando Gaiarsa (Santo André, SP, 2014). He took part in the group show 50 anos de Realismo: do fotorrealismo à Realidade Virtual, which toured CCBB venues in São Paulo (2018), Brasília (2019) and Rio de Janeiro (2019), alongside artists such as John DeAndrea and Peter Land. He also took part in Burgos 3 at the Complexo Cultural Funarte SP (São Paulo, 2017) and Marina Monumental / Arte na Marina da Glória (Rio de Janeiro, 2016). He was an artist-in-residence at the 14h international Werkstattwoche Luben (Luben, Germany, 2017).
His works form part of institutional collections, including the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) and Casa do Olhar Luiz Sacilotto in Santo André, as well as private collections in Berlin, São Paulo, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia.