Mephistopheles, the young demi-diabolical anaemic rogue and antihero of the story, is architect to and victim of ennui-swept landscapes, haunted antique interiors and richly encrusted paint surfaces. Scenarios are concocted in which we discover our boy in a solitary moment or are witnesses to the melancholic ruins of his absence.

Exhibition Dates: 2 March – 24 March 2007

Youth gets away with everything. Forgiven for childish pranks and nastiness—even when hell-bent on evil—in exchange for the spectacle of innocence or inexperience. In Hernan Bas’ teen necropolis, Mephistopheles at 17, his first exhibition in Australia, the young painter from Miami mixes his signature morbid palette of oil paint and bitumen-like effects with goth-decadent and gamy narratives in a series of nineteen intimately-scaled paintings. Mephistopheles, the young demi-diabolical anaemic rogue and antihero of the story, is architect to and victim of ennui-swept landscapes, haunted antique interiors and richly encrusted paint surfaces. Scenarios are concocted in which we discover our boy in a solitary moment or are witnesses to the melancholic ruins of his absence. Bas’ Mephistopheles commits the petty crimes of his legacy, exercising the props of devilry in various rites of passage: penning blackmail, releasing bats, nurturing weeds, imbibing drink, cloaking in velvet and colluding with ghosts and skeletons. Much of his business is transacted via the medium of reading and writing, literary channels conveying the decadent workings of an occult leisure time and the potential for obscure sexual adventure.

—Amanda Rowell

Hernan Bas (b. 1978) has in recent years become one of the most sought after young painters in the US, UK and Europe. Exhibiting since 1997, major group exhibitions include Dangerous Beauty, Chelsea Art Museum, New York (2007), The Triumph of Painting - Part 5, Saatchi Gallery, London (2005), Ideal Worlds - New Romanticism in Contemporary Art Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany (2005) and The Whitney Biennial, New York (2004). In 2002, the MCA, North Miami held a solo exhibition of Bas’ work entitled It's Super Natural. His work is held in many major public and private collections in the US, UK and Europe, including MoCA Geffen, Los Angeles, the Saatchi Collection, London and the Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens. Bas has been the recipient of a number of awards and fellowships including the Rema Hort Foundation Grant, New York (2002) and the Dean’s Fellowship, Columbia University, New York (2001). Mephistopheles at 17 will be Hernan Bas’ first exhibition with Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery and his first exhibition in Australia.

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Hernan Bas A tough view of the surface, 2007; mixed media on linen; 61 x 50.8 cm; enquire
A tough view of the surface, 2007
mixed media on linen
61 x 50.8 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles, at 17 (in his weed garden), 2007; mixed media on linen; 61 x 50.8 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles, at 17 (in his weed garden), 2007
mixed media on linen
61 x 50.8 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles, at 17 (reading poetry), 2007; mixed media on linen; 61 x 50.8 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles, at 17 (reading poetry), 2007
mixed media on linen
61 x 50.8 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles, at 17 (the origin of bats), 2007; mixed media on linen; 61 x 50.8 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles, at 17 (the origin of bats), 2007
mixed media on linen
61 x 50.8 cm
Hernan Bas The Blue tree, 2007; mixed media on linen; 61 x 50.8 cm; enquire
The Blue tree, 2007
mixed media on linen
61 x 50.8 cm
Hernan Bas The skeleton forest, 2007; mixed media on linen; 61 x 50.8 cm; enquire
The skeleton forest, 2007
mixed media on linen
61 x 50.8 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles at 17, 2007; mixed media on linen; 50.8 x 40.6 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles at 17, 2007
mixed media on linen
50.8 x 40.6 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles, at 17 (writing his black mailings), 2007; mixed media on linen; 50.8 x 40.6 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles, at 17 (writing his black mailings), 2007
mixed media on linen
50.8 x 40.6 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles, at 17 (disrobing for a trip to the surface), 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles, at 17 (disrobing for a trip to the surface), 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas Mephistopheles, at 17 (the view from his den), 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
Mephistopheles, at 17 (the view from his den), 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas SunbruntLandscape, 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
SunbruntLandscape, 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas The burning bush,before the fire, 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
The burning bush,before the fire, 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas The ghosts of books half-read, 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
The ghosts of books half-read, 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas The patron saint of shyness, 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
The patron saint of shyness, 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas The sky, before the fall, 2007; mixed media on linen; 35.5 x 28 cm; enquire
The sky, before the fall, 2007
mixed media on linen
35.5 x 28 cm
Hernan Bas The patron saint of velvet, 2007; mixed media on linen; 30.5 x 22.9 cm; enquire
The patron saint of velvet, 2007
mixed media on linen
30.5 x 22.9 cm
Hernan Bas A soft warning, 2007; mixed media on linen; 20.3 x 15.2 cm; enquire
A soft warning, 2007
mixed media on linen
20.3 x 15.2 cm
Hernan Bas Roots to an evil tree, 2007; mixed media on linen; 20.3 x 15.2 cm; enquire
Roots to an evil tree, 2007
mixed media on linen
20.3 x 15.2 cm
Hernan Bas That drink, 2007; mixed media on linen; 20.3 x 15.2 cm; enquire
That drink, 2007
mixed media on linen
20.3 x 15.2 cm