Perrotin Presents Hernan Bas’ First Solo Exhibition in Japan in 8 Years
Miami-born painter Hernan Bas is celebrated for his vibrant, story-driven canvases that blend dark romanticism with modern queer identity. His detailed figurative works usually center on young men lingering in that uncertain, transitional moment between youth and adulthood — floating through lush, dreamlike landscapes inspired by literature and myth. For his first solo exhibition in Japan in eight years, Bas brings this signature style into a surprisingly everyday world: the casual, roadside sales of American suburban life.
In “Time To Shine! (The Salesmen)” at Perrotin Tokyo, Bas places his youthful figures behind tables at front-lawn yard sales, flower stalls and beachside souvenir stands. In the sprawling “All you ever wanted to know about 5B,” for instance, a young man stands among piles of secondhand clothes and household objects, looking less like a seller and more like an artwork on display. It’s a playful, yet poignant meditation on aging, value and how we present ourselves to the world.
