Footnote:
Published on the occasion of the exhibition "Hernan Bas: The Conceptualists", 17 November 2022-14 January 2023, Victoria Miro ... London
Description:
Hernan Bas is celebrated for works that, permeated by an aura of eroticism and decadence and loaded with codes and double-meanings, point to the intricacies of self-identity while celebrating moments of transformation ? the ordinary becoming extraordinary.00While earlier paintings hinge on characters with nascent identities and burgeoning interests, the works in this exhibition follow a new theme, in which Bas? protagonists engage in a variety of obsessive pursuits that, deemed strange under everyday circumstances, might be rationalised or even championed when considered as ?conceptual art?.00As ?Conceptualists?, the characters in the paintings are emboldened to indulge their passions ? chewing gum every waking hour of the day, gilding the leaves of dying house plants, mixing paint with water sourced exclusively from Niagara Falls ? with vigour and seriousness as they construct their self-made worlds. As viewers we are invited to consider the way meaning shifts with context and how, under the auspices of art, eccentricity gains a particular allure.00Exhibition: Victoria Miro, London, UK (18.11.2022 - 14.01.2023)