Hernan Bas explores the liminal space between fantasy and the everyday
Published: 22 Apr. 2025, 00:05
Updated: 22 Apr. 2025, 07:09
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
Lee Eun-joo
The author is a senior reporter on culture at the JoongAng Ilbo.
Among a burst of vibrant blossoms, a young man stands with a hat adorned in flowers even more flamboyant than those surrounding him. The image is strikingly beautiful, yet faintly strange — almost otherworldly. This is the work of Hernan Bas, a 47-year-old Cuban American artist born in Miami, whose figurative paintings have made him one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in the genre.
![Hernan Bas. [LEHMANN MAUPIN SEOUL]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/04/22/b280bdff-bf7d-46ca-bf27-72e4606d4059.jpg)
Bas is often described as a painter of surreal or fantastical visions. But in an interview held at Lehmann Maupin Seoul, where his solo exhibition is currently on view, he offered a different perspective. “People say my work is surreal or magical,” Bas said, “but most of what I paint actually exists. I don’t paint fantasy — I capture fantastical moments in reality.”
His current exhibition, titled "The Space Between What’s Needed and What’s Not," continues this exploration of the thresholds that divide perception: between real and imagined, comfort and unease, luxury and decay, nature and artifice. Each work is layered with narrative cues that hint at lives beyond the frame, blurring the line between visual art and literary storytelling.
A standout piece is "Round One," depicting a global yo-yo championship. “I got into it after watching matches online,” Bas said. Using neon hues, he transforms this niche subculture into a luminous spectacle. Mundane elements, often overlooked in daily life, become extraordinary through Bas’s lens.
The artist approaches his themes by writing lists of what society deems necessary or dispensable. One entry stood out: magic. “Magic may not help us survive, but it brings us joy — so it’s necessary,” he explained. The 12 works on display are meditations on that fragile line, filled with irony and humor, examining the contradictions of modern life.
![Hernan Bas. [LEHMANN MAUPIN SEOUL]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/04/22/c25cd46a-40c7-45b3-b6cb-05144c783af8.jpg)
Bas cites playwright Oscar Wilde and novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans as key influences, and emphasizes that the bulk of his creative process happens before he ever picks up a brush. “I spend more time shaping concepts and doing research than actually painting,” he said.
Though all the works were sold before the exhibition opened, the show runs through May 31. With a palette drawn from dreams and a mind trained on the peculiarities of life, Bas offers visitors a kind of quiet enchantment — an invitation to reconsider the beauty and meaning of what might otherwise seem useless.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
Among a burst of vibrant blossoms, a young man stands with a hat adorned in flowers even more flamboyant than those surrounding him. The image is strikingly beautiful, yet faintly strange — almost otherworldly. This is the work of Hernan Bas, a 47-year-old Cuban American artist born in Miami, whose figurative paintings have made him one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in the genre.
Hernan Bas. [LEHMANN MAUPIN SEOUL]
Bas is often described as a painter of surreal or fantastical visions. But in an interview held at Lehmann Maupin Seoul, where his solo exhibition is currently on view, he offered a different perspective. “People say my work is surreal or magical,” Bas said, “but most of what I paint actually exists. I don’t paint fantasy — I capture fantastical moments in reality.”
His current exhibition, titled "The Space Between What’s Needed and What’s Not," continues this exploration of the thresholds that divide perception: between real and imagined, comfort and unease, luxury and decay, nature and artifice. Each work is layered with narrative cues that hint at lives beyond the frame, blurring the line between visual art and literary storytelling.
A standout piece is "Round One," depicting a global yo-yo championship. “I got into it after watching matches online,” Bas said. Using neon hues, he transforms this niche subculture into a luminous spectacle. Mundane elements, often overlooked in daily life, become extraordinary through Bas’s lens.
The artist approaches his themes by writing lists of what society deems necessary or dispensable. One entry stood out: magic. “Magic may not help us survive, but it brings us joy — so it’s necessary,” he explained. The 12 works on display are meditations on that fragile line, filled with irony and humor, examining the contradictions of modern life.
Hernan Bas. [LEHMANN MAUPIN SEOUL]
Bas cites playwright Oscar Wilde and novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans as key influences, and emphasizes that the bulk of his creative process happens before he ever picks up a brush. “I spend more time shaping concepts and doing research than actually painting,” he said.
Though all the works were sold before the exhibition opened, the show runs through May 31. With a palette drawn from dreams and a mind trained on the peculiarities of life, Bas offers visitors a kind of quiet enchantment — an invitation to reconsider the beauty and meaning of what might otherwise seem useless.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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