Lehmann Maupin Gallery Presents Hernan Bas' Occult Contemporary, 3/15 - 4/21

Lehmann Maupin Gallery will present Hernan Bas, Occult Contemporary, on view March 15 – April 21 2012, at 540 West 26th Street.

Drawing from his interest in the supernatural, Hernan Bas's Occult Contemporary responds to the recent proliferation of the occult in mass media with a presentation of new paintings depicting a representation of the devil based on traditional texts and folklore. Playing on the term "Adult Contemporary," used to describe a light genre of popular music, the title of Bas's show plays on this act of genre-fication which has made the presence of the occult and supernatural in books, movies, and t.v. accessible to children and young adults, extinguishing any aura of danger or taboo that the occult once held, and consequently, resulting in varying representations and visual depictions of the devil that stray from those detailed in real folklore. For this exhibition, Hernan Bas deals with the true origins of the occult and folklore, translating tales about the devil and trickery into a series of new paintings. Bas's "Tartini's Dream" is based on the famed composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartin's most famed composition, "The Devils Trill," which began with a dream. As Tartini described it, in his slumber the devil appeared to the violinist and asked to be taught the violin. After some tutoring, Tartini handed the devil the instrument and to his surprise the devil began at a lightning pace a composition that left Tartini breathless. Upon waking, Tartini feverishly attempted to transcribe the song, but despite his effort and universal praise for the piece, Tartini would never feel his version even paled in comparison to the devil's version. In the painting, we see Tartini amongst a dreamlike forest, crawling with shadowed spirits, his head bowed in shame as the Devil plays his trill.