Fernanda Chieco

I am a professional visual artist and art educator with more than 30 years of international experience. Throughout this time, I have worked full-time as an artist, developing my practice through exhibitions, research, artist residencies, and projects in different countries.

I hold a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Art Education from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil. My work has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, biennials, and cultural institutions, and is represented in public and private collections in Brazil and abroad.

Teaching became an important part of my practice as I recognized that many artists encounter the same questions and difficulties that I have faced throughout my own career: how to develop an individual artistic language, how to position a practice within contemporary art, and how to create a professional path without losing what is particular about one’s own work.

Over the years, I have developed an individualized approach centered on each student’s own artistic poetics. I work with drawing, painting, conceptual development, research, portfolio preparation, artist statements and project proposals, as well as mentoring for art school, university, residency, grant, and exhibition applications.

I teach complete beginners, art students, emerging and professional artists, as well as people who are not artists but would like to understand contemporary art and the art world more deeply.

My teaching is grounded in contemporary artistic practice. Technical development is combined with experimentation, critical thinking, art history, current exhibitions, artists, publications, theory, and criticism. I encourage students to understand how their own work can enter into dialogue with the wider field of contemporary art while developing a language and direction that remain genuinely their own.

My teaching is highly individualized, collaborative, and exploratory. I believe that learning art involves much more than acquiring technical skills: it is also about developing perception, curiosity, critical thinking, and an individual visual language.

I do not teach through copying alone or impose a particular style on my students. Instead, I help each person understand what interests them, what they want to communicate, and which techniques, materials, references, and working methods can best support those intentions.

For beginners, I provide a clear and supportive structure while introducing the fundamentals of drawing, painting, composition, observation, color, and materials. As confidence develops, I encourage greater experimentation and independence.

With more experienced students and practicing artists, lessons can become a space for critical dialogue and mentoring. We may discuss works in progress, artistic references, conceptual questions, portfolio development, exhibitions, applications, or the broader direction of an artistic practice.

Constructive feedback is an important part of my teaching, but I see teaching as a conversation rather than a formula. Every student brings a different history, way of seeing, pace, and set of ambitions. My role is to help them identify their strengths, challenge habits when necessary, and develop the confidence to make increasingly conscious and personal artistic decisions.