BIO
Nelson Hernandez is a Chilean painter currently living and working in London. He graduated in Art from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and is currently pursuing an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London.
STATEMENT
I am a painter born in Chilean Patagonia, and my work serves as a commentary on the effects of the globalisation within which I exist. Being born in a remote location has allowed me to witness firsthand how the specific and local become diluted in favour of a universal, globalised culture. Consequently, my paintings borrow iconic imagery from both art history and popular culture, reinterpreting these through diverse pictorial styles. By altering their original meanings, I seek to highlight the tension surrounding the loss or dissolution of local identity within the context of global standardisation.
This disappearance of the local in favour of the universal manifests itself in my work through an eclectic use of painting styles and visual references, aligning with the critical tradition of pastiche and decontextualisation exemplified by artists such as Sigmar Polke or Gerhard Richter. The deliberate juxtaposition of the old with the new, the revered with the popular, thus becomes central to my artistic practice.
Through this pictorial strategy, I aim to foster a critical dialogue between painting and its history, using technique not merely as a formal tool, but as a conceptual vehicle connecting the past and the present, thereby interrogating notions of identity and memory in the contemporary era.
EXHIBITIONS
- 2025
- Parrhesia. Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK.
- 2025
- Rejection: When No Said Yes. Hangar Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK.
- 2024
- The Persistence of Memory. Ca.Sa. Collection, Santiago, Chili.
- 2024
- Open Studio GlogauAIR. Residency Program Berlin, Germany
- 2023
- Pinta PArC. Contemporary Art Fair with Factoría Santa Rosa, Lima, Peru.
- 2022
- Art Miami. Contemporary Art Fair with Factoría Santa Rosa, Miami, USA.
- 2022
- Nuevas Generaciones. Group Exhibition, CV Gallery, Santiago, Chile.
- 2022
- PLAYGROUND. Group Exhibition, Factoría Santa Rosa Gallery, Santiago,
Chile. - 2022
- B&N / Oscuro y Germinal. Group Exhibition, Factoría Santa Rosa
Gallery, Santiago, Chile. - 2021
- CHILARTe. Exposición colectiva, Distrito de lujo Parque Arauco, Santiago, Chile.
- 2021
- FAXXI 2021. Exposición colectiva, Feria de Arte online, Santiago, Chile.
- 2021
- Tiempos fragmentados. Exposición colectiva, Galería Artespacio, Santiago, Chile.
- 2020
- ArtStgo. Contemporary Art Fair, Online. Santiago, Chile.
- 2018
- Ch.ACO.Contemporary Art Fair, Arboleda Lo Curro, Santiago, Chile.
- 2018
- ArtStgo. Contemporary Art Fair, GAM, Santiago, Chile.
- 2018
- Galería Artespacio Joven BBVA, Artespacio Gallery, Santiago, Chile.
RESIDENCIES
- 2024
- GlogauAIR. Residency Program Berlin, Germany
PUBLICATIONS
- 2021
- 30x30x30. Hernández Nelson (2021). Self-published, Santiago.
- 2016
- 50 Buenos días. Hernández Nelson (2016). Santiago: EUONIA.
AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS
- 2021
- The artwork An Implacable Enemy becomes the official image of the campaign of elected convention member Giovanna Grandon, also known as Tía Pikachu.
- 2020
- Cover and participation in the special edition of Pléyade magazine, humanities and social sciences magazine, edition commemorating 1 year since the start of the social outbreak.
- 2018
- 1st place Artespacio Joven BBVA Gallery competition, Artespacio Gallery, Santiago, Chile.