Hernan Bas - Contemporary Art Part I New York Thursday, May 15, 2008 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Deitch Projects, New York

  • Exhibited


    NewYork, Deitch Projects, Women Beware Women, November 8 - December 20, 2003

  • Catalogue Essay


    Hernan Bas, in fact, is a young artist who paints with the creepy insistence of a loner, fully immersed in his obsessions. Series after series, Bas adds a new chapter to his encyclopedia of pleasure, composed of personal re-writings and re-interpretations of both classic and cheap literature. On top of these he lays references ranging from fashion photography to record sleeve designs. Elegant and squalid, Bas’s work is rooted in popular culture and, at the same time, highly sophisticated, like the pastimes of a bored dandy who experiments with erudite fancies, rock and roll nightmares and suave vision; like a paradise at once lost and artificially reloaded.
    Bas’s universe is built on the thrill of discovery and, symmetrically, on the mystery that envelops unknown forces, forbidden desires and sinister places. Whether portraying skinny boys lost in the woods, fainted castaways or teenage models, Bas always drowns his characters in a maelstrom of menacing fluids, spinning vortexes and imminent thunderstorms—at times he even transfixes them with satanic symbols. When these characters are not fighting against some meteorological or supernatural manifestation of fury, they are often hiding in caves, cabins or shacks—like some sort of primitive men. These scenarios are familiar to any boy who has read his fair share of adventure novels, from Treasure Island to Lord of the Flies. The degraded version of this literary tradition, nevertheless, is what attracts Hernan Bas. What catches his attention is the stereotype of a communal, virile life, as depicted by the Hardy Boys series, or by their real life incarnations—boy scouts at summer camp, with their hierarchies, rituals and rites of passage.M. Gioni, “Against Nature,” Soap-Operatic/Hernan Bas, Miami, 2004, n. p.

  • Artist Biography

    Hernan Bas

    Hernan Bas (b.1978) is a contemporary American painter who lives and works in Miami. His paintings are influenced by the romantic and decadent legacies of 18th and 19th century art, literature, poetry, and religion. These influences result in canvases that are complex and highly detailed and often portray characters, typically young male figures, nestled among flora and fauna.  

    Hernan Bas received a degree from the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida in 1996. Solo exhibitions of Bas’ work have been curated by the Rubell Museum, Miami, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, and Space, K, Seoul.  Bas’ artwork is found in permanent collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, and Carré d'Art - Musée d'Art Contemporain, Nîmes, France.
     

     
    View More Works

139

Monster (from the series A Little Moby Dick in All of Us)

2003

Gouache and graphite on masonite board.

40 x 50 in. (101.6 x 127 cm).

Initialed, titled, and dated “Monster HB 03” on the reverse.

Estimate
$150,000 - 200,000 

Sold for $175,000

Contemporary Art Part I

15 May 2008, 7pm
New York