Hernan Bas, Fragile Moments, 2003, Two DVD projections and two stereo soundtracks, Ed. 1/10, Variable dimensions, Duration: 7 min. 16 sec., Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
Hernan Bas, The Day Things Changed Between Us, 2004, Acrylic and watercolor on paper, 13-5/8 x 13", Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
Hernan Bas, Mystery of the Hollow Oak, 2001, Water-based oil on paper, 9-3/4 x 9", Rubell Family Collection, Miami. |
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Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
718-638-5000
Brooklyn
Hernan Bas:
Works from the Rubell
Family Collection
February 27-May 24, 2009
Designed like the chapters of a book, this exhibition presents Hernan Bas, development in a manner that can be read symbolically and literally. One of his earliest series, inspired by the Hardy Boys mystery stories, depicts a young adventurous duo, exploring atmospheric scenes — dark caves, woods, and mysterious interiors. The eerie settings and unresolved narratives connect Bas's two recurring characters in an intimate and sexually charged relationship. His later work involves more colorful and richly painted surfaces that place contemporary-looking men in historical environments. The Swan Prince (2004) presents Bavarian king Ludwig II as a bare-chested young man, floating in a half shell pulled by three swans. His more recent work includes the large-scale, dense mixed-media work, The Great Barrier Wreath (2006), a three-panel painting of men, swans, and flamingos in a style reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch; and a mixed-media installation, Ocean's Symphony (2007), that reimagines the hoax of the Fiji mermaid with a mermaid replica lying in a casket surrounded by nautical objects and video projections.
Thirty-eight works of art in various media from one of Miami's most celebrated young artists are featured in a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. Hernan Bas: Works from the Rubell Family Collection draws from art collected over the past ten years by the Rubell family. Bas has a great fascination with historical painting, popular fiction, Goth culture, and 19th-century dandyism. Using these influences, his paintings often depict androgynous boys on the edge of adulthood in narratives drawn from Oscar Wilde, Joris-Karl Huysmans, and other writers of the Aesthetic and Decadent period. Inspired by these authors, Bas creates romantic mythologies from a perspective that explores masculinity and gay culture.
Hernan Bas was born in Miami in 1978 of Cuban expatriate parents; he is a graduate of The New World School of the Arts in Miami. His work has been seen in numerous solo and group shows and is in private and public collections throughout the Unites States, among them the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. He currently lives and works in Miami.
Hernan Bas: Works from the Rubell Family Collection was organized by Mark Coetzee, Director of the Rubell Family Collection; the Brooklyn Museum presentation is coordinated by Charles Desmarais, Deputy Director for Art. The exhibition is also accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by the Rubell Family Collection.
Hernan Bas (American, b. 1978). The Blue Line, 2005-06. Acrylic, gouache, water-based oil, and collage on paper. The Rubell Family Collection, Miami.
Hernan Bas (American, b. 1978). The Burden (I Shall Leave No Memoirs), 2006. From the series Dandies, Pansies and Prudes. Acrylic and gouache on linen. The Rubell Family Collection, Miami. |
