Hernan Bas

A Certain Southern Gothic

- Evan Pricco

There is a subtle inculcation from an early age that a penchant for the weird does not predispose a successful career. Even though the creatives who sport a quirky odd streak are warily admired, no one asks the school guidance counselor about how a love for The X-Files might result in a scholarship in paranormal studies. I’ve read countless interviews with the Miami-born Hernan Bas, many citing the inspiration behind his work, where there seems to be an alignment with the alluringly decadent and mysterious works of literature by great Gothic writers of the past like Mary Shelley, Poe, or Wilde. That, coupled with his move to north-central Florida at a young age, results in a steeping in Southern Gothic tradition that oozes from each painting. His characters have grown up over the two decades Bas has been in the limelight, with hostile humor, sadness, growth, and isolation riddling each painting. Either Bas is the enigma or his signature moments are, and that he has dedicated his craft to often misunderstood or underappreciated moments of history makes him a unique and influential voice in contemporary figurative painting.

I’ve always wanted to speak to Hernan Bas because I hoped to excavate the humor in his work, which provides plenty to unpack. But there is tragedy, too. After losing his mother earlier in 2020 to Covid, he made a remarkable body of work, Creature Comforts, that was on display at Perrotin in Paris through early 2021. We talked about the genesis of that series, how nature was reflected in the paintings, and how a sustained desire to uncover the mysteries of the world is one of life’s truly important journeys.

Evan Pricco: You are based both in Detroit and Miami, but as we speak, you’re in Florida now?