Hernan Bas : The Conceptualists

The Bass presents The Conceptualists, an exhibition of new paintings by the Miami-based artist Hernan Bas. The show features 35 artworks that explore conceptual art as a permissive realm for creative behaviour and an inviting space for queerness.

Drawing inspiration from literary sources, such as the aesthetic decadence and queer eroticism of nineteenth-century writers Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysman, Bas creates intricately detailed scenes addressing addresses the complex relationship between conceptual art and painting. Single male or group of male figures are depicted in moments of stasis, while all other actions surrounding the character are seemingly suspended in a surreal atmosphere.

Anchoring the exhibition, the largest painting, a 9 × 21 ft. commission, depicts a group portrait in which an artist paints conceptual artists.