Hernan Bas

Conceptual artist #17 (With the aid of scissors, paper doilies and origami...

2023

Artist Hernan Bas is best known for the lively depictions of nineteenth-century-style waifs, mythological creatures and dandies that permeate his Expressionist paintings and prints. Whether they’re cheerful or somber, Bas’s subjects, which are often imbued with humor and homoeroticism, are typically positioned in a richly colored fantastic landscape. He views them as characters in a broader story that he tells throughout his work.

Born in Miami, Florida, Bas had a penchant for drawing and painting as young as four years old. He entered the art magnet program in the Miami public school system, where teachers helped foster his talent and passion for the arts. 

Bas entered art school in seventh grade. His post-high school education took shape at the New World School of the Arts of Miami. After graduating in 1996 from New World, Bas enrolled in The Cooper Union — an exclusive arts academy in New York City. He left The Cooper Union after a semester, believing he'd had all the art training he was going to need.

Though he considers himself a painter by trade, Bas enjoys experimenting with other media. He has tried his hand at photography and film, and eventually set up a darkroom in his studio basement.

Bas’s first exhibition took place in 2001 at Miami’s Fredric Snitzer Gallery, and it didn't take long for the art scene to take notice. The artist has since enjoyed a global audience and has had solo and group showings around the world — including New York, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 

Bas’s art is held in many public collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Samuso: Space for Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea. He lives and works between Miami and Detroit.

Find original Hernan Bas prints and photography on 1stDibs.