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Last Updated: 11/21/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 32
Sign: Virgo

State: Florida
Country: US
Signup Date: 1/7/2007

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009 



Renowned Urban Artist Unleashes New Show
@ Ybor City's REAX Space 

WHAT:Lucky You, Featuring Art by Bask & Music by DJ Mega
WHEN: Friday, August 28 @ 7 p.m.
WHERE: REAX Space, 1911 N. 19th St., Ybor City | 813.247.6975
HOW MUCH: FREE 

(TAMPA, FL) - Socially conscious artist Bask will premiere a new exhibition, titledLucky You, with a free opening at Ybor City gallery and boutique REAX Space on Friday, August 28 at 7 p.m. Art fiends, free thinkers, urban-culture aficionados and scenesters alike are invited to mingle, have a drink and enjoy the Czech-born provocateur's latest works.

Equally inspired by graffiti, the punk scene's D.I.Y. use-what-ya-got ethos, and the parallels he sees between the stark propaganda of his Eastern European childhood and contemporary American popular culture's overtly manipulative mechanizations, Bask's art is both gritty and thought-inspiring. Encompassed in the original slogan that first caught the imagination of the contemporary art world - "Bask in your thought crime" - his philosophy is one of freedom and individuality, rather than the incitement of blind frustration. He sees the possibilities in a discarded piece of wood, in a whitewashed brick wall, in the emotions conjured by the familiar shadows that lurk behind a bright, shining lie.

His eyes are open. His art only asks the same of its viewers.

Bask's imagery has been shown in Cleveland, Miami and Detroit, and is a part of the Jacksonville Museum of Art's permanent collection.

Lucky You will be available for pre-opening perusal at REAX Space after 3 p.m. Close friend and collaborator DJ Mega will provide appropriate sonic accompaniment. This event is FREE to all ages; proof of age is required for alcoholic beverages.

REAX Space is a multi-purpose gallery, boutique, and hangout located in the heart of historic, cultural Ybor City. It features clothing, designs and artwork found nowhere else, and also houses the offices of monthly music and culture magazine REAX.


12:11 AM 
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Friday, May 22, 2009 

Category: Art and Photography

PRESS
RELEASE:

William Rupnik Gallery is proud to present:

An exhibition of recent artworks by 

Ales BASK Hostomsky
A COUNTDOWN TO AWESOME
June 5 - July 5, 2009

Opening reception 7-10 pm Friday, June 5, 2009

Contrasting feelings of anxiety and excitement, uncertainty and exhilaration, Bask's newest installations and paintings coalesce emotions often associated with an inescapable obligation or event; rousing both apprehension and optimism. His works are inspired by economic downturn, hopeful determination and the strength and unity of a people.  Bask's new collection affirms that uncertainty and restlessness are bygone and a bright future is ahead.  


Consistently raising the bar on discovering pop culture's new conspiracies and contradictions, Bask takes a bite out of the corporate apple with provocative mixed media pieces.  Pulled from tree lawns and alleyways, discarded panels and walls are given new life by way of this Czech-born, American vandal's barrage of "anti-iconic" characters and themes.  Unpredictable and sometimes grim, Bask connects in his work early communist propaganda seen as a child to the commanding advertisements seen inearly adulthood.  This comparison of powers is portrayed in his gritty and conspicuous street and gallery art.  Political in motivation, original as sin, Bask vies for your attention by deconstructing pop culture and exposing the real messages in mass media.


Opening reception 7-10 pm Friday, June 5, 2009


William Rupnik Gallery
1667 East 40th Street, Unit 1A
Cleveland, Ohio 44103

Hours: by appointment only
Admission: free

Directions: Visit www.wrgcleveland.com for directions and Google Earth placemark
Visitor Information: Call (216) 533-5575 or email info@ wrgcleveland.com

For further press information and images contact:
Bill Rupnik, (216) 533-5575 or email info@ wrgcleveland.com


12:30 AM 
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008 

Current mood:  excited
Category: Art and Photography
Bask - "​​​Chang​e We Need"​​​ Print​
Toyro​om & Outer​ Edge Studi​o Exclu​sive. Click image to order



LIMIT​ED EDITI​ON GICLE​E
Editi​on Size:​​​ 100
Paper​ Size:​​​ 24" x 14"
Image​ Size:​​​ 20" x 10.25"
10:04 AM 
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Monday, September 22, 2008 

Category: Art and Photography


A thoughtcrime is an idea or belief that defies the norms of the status quo. In theory, it is your primal instinct, your creative urge unconfined by restraints from corporations, the state, media and society. Thoughtcrimes often occur after one awakens from a deep slumber with feelings of discontent in there lives. Like an explosive hand grenade, the mind and spirit are then liberated and freed from the rut of conformity.

Why be a thoughtcriminal is synonymous to asking, "Why should I be a free thinking individual?" True freedom lies in the mind and consciousness and cannot be censored or imprisoned. Thoughtcriminals question the status quo, reading between the lines of information that is disseminated by the mass media. They do not view the world through rose tinted lenses and refuse to let patriotism blind them of healthy criticisms. Although they are critical of the system, they optimistically seek change.

If you are a free-thinking, nonconforming individual who resists indoctrinated thought control and instead believes in self-determination and free will, then you are a thoughtcriminal.
BASK IN YOUR THOUGHTCRIMES
1:03 PM 
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Saturday, April 26, 2008 



In 1984, Bask and his family immigrated to the United States from Czechoslavakia (the modern day Czech Republic). He is known in the Florida area and beyond for his texturally-magnificent works which are often displayed on salvaged materials. Everything from old wood scraps to wallpapered panels are fair game for the art takeover of Bask. What other people might consider trash is just the launching point for Bask's artwork.

'[I find my materials in] alleyways, roadsides, and other places you'd expect to see junk,' Bask explains. 'It's like being on a treasure hunt sometimes, looking for that perfect panel to paint on.'

When we last spoke to Bask over a year and a half ago, his work was largely motivated by political and social issues. They featured huge amounts of iconic commercial figures and symbols, for example, the Morton's salt girl or dirty ol' Linus from The Peanuts.

'When I first started incorporating brand icons into my work, I started to notice how people would react to certain paintings of mine,' Bask recalls. 'I started to recognize the power of 'the brand,' and their collective messages to consume, consume, consume.



One commercially-inspired piece piece that stood out at that time was one that was created using a sign from an old coffee shop in Miami. The piece was entitled Harvey's Cafe, and featured half of the green Starbucks crest emerging out of the carcass of Harvey's Cafe's old hand-painted sign. Bold red letters above the Starbucks crest read, 'COMING SOON,' and a small message is inscribed in ink, saying, 'Another failed attempt to fit in.'

At that time, Bask didn't think much about the closure of the coffee shop and was simply excited to have found an interesting new panel to paint on. But when he returned to Miami months later, he saw that a brand new Starbucks had opened in the location of the old Harvey's, and it made a significant impact on him.

'We all have heard and seen examples of large corporate chains pushing out the little guy, but this case hit home with me, and I didn't really know why,' explains Bask. 'Maybe it was the change of guard switching out one humble little coffee shop for the bigger, better new one, or maybe it was the fact I actually had a piece of Harvey's in my studio like an old fossil, [as] proof that it once stood.'



Although Bask does not seem any less politically or socially-aware now than he was before, his works have changed through the years -- in context and in influence.

'As an artist, I'm influenced by the current state of affairs as a whole,' Bask says. 'There are broad issues like the war in Iraq and our government's constant missteps, but I'm also influenced greatly by personal issues. Over the years, my work has become less political in theme and more personally intimate in meaning. I'd rather my paintings inspire than preach.'

But in some cases, sometimes a message is on the tip of Bask's tongue, waiting to be heard by the world. We were lucky enough to have Bask custom-design the cover of this issue for us, and as a fan of all types of music, he was clearly inspired by injustices in the music industry when he created this piece. The art features a vintage-style man who looks like a stereotypical corporate fat cat. He is donning a suit and smiling cheekily while a cigar pokes out from through his teeth. On the man's hand is a scraggly puppet he is controlling; the puppet wears an anarchy t-shirt and is waving flags that say 'indi' on them. It's a clear and forceful message.

'The piece is inspired by the state of affairs in the music industry,' Bask explains. 'Words like 'indie' and 'punk' seem to be fading fast, and in their places, we get deluded [artists] owned by large record labels. I'm not saying [all musicians] on large labels are evil and bad, but in many cases, large labels use smaller, more underground labels in an attempt to legitimize themselves to audiences. They are basically buying street cred.'

As a full-time artist, Bask works at home, in his studio. He may not paint everyday, but art is on his mind daily. Like most artists, if he has a show coming up, he tends to go all out and dives in headfirst. On the topic of crunch time before a gallery showing, Bask says, 'I'll paint 20 hours a day for a week straight, then crash for a few days and repeat the process.'

Bask's pieces frequently have a decayed look to them, and the amount of detail in every nook and cranny of his work is sometimes hard to keep up with. His pieces look like they've been weathered for years, and the paints crack, blister, and peel with personality. These effects, coupled with the use of bright colors and innovative thinking, help Bask's work command attention in the streets as well as in the galleries.

It is sometimes difficult for artists to find venues that have their best interests in mind, but Bask believes that with enough perseverance and patience, any artist can find those galleries.



And as for the ones that might not look as kindly upon his work as he'd like, he has no qualms about them. To him, it seems simple. Artists need galleries to hang their work in. Sell yourself. 'It must be my graffiti, ego-driven personality,' he says, 'but I make my work to be seen by as many people as possible. I chose to be a career artist, and there is no room to be shy.' But there is a little room to be shy as an artist, particularly when it comes to being present at your own art shows. '[It] is very intimidating,' Bask says. 'It's like standing in a room naked while people come up and praise and/or critique everything about you.'

Bask has not found much difficulty in finding galleries in where to show his street- and graffiti-influenced work. As far as he can tell, street art is becoming more and more mainstream.

'From my experience, street art today is so in vogue that galleries are open to artists that present street elements in their work. Too much so, in my opinion,' Bask admits. 'Street art is becoming so mainstream that the figurative pond is becoming muddied up. But like with everything else, time will sift out the true from the rest.'
12:26 AM 
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Friday, September 14, 2007 

Category: Art and Photography
XFUNS magazine

X: Please introduce yourself for XFUNS readers.

B: My name is Ales Bask Hostomsky, but most people simply know me as Bask. I am a 29 year old, Czech born, American artist.

X: Please share with us your earliest influences that led you into the field of visual design.

B: It is strange but i do not remember a time in my life when I was not doing some form of art. I think my earliest conscious influences would have to be comic books. I started collecting comic books shortly after my family emigrated to the United States in 1984. I was a dedicated fan for about 5 years and acquired a huge collection over that time. Whats strange is that I rarely read any of them and primarily collected them only for the art. Artists like Todd Mcfarlane, Jim Lee and Simon Bisley are just some people i drew influence from back then. Later, when I was about 16 years old, I got into doing graffiti and that has had the over all biggest influence on me and my art. However it was not until my early 20s when I first started to learn about modern art, and POP art in particular, that my art started to take shape into what it is today.

X: What stimulates your creative idea?

B: My ideas stem anywhere from social and personal issues to politics but i could not tell you what specifically stimulates my creativity. It is something that gets triggered inconsistently yet I always feel it is there. Sometimes I go weeks without painting a thing then out of seemingly nowhere I start painting so intensely that I look at the time i need to sleep or eat, as an actually burden.

X: Can you tell us a little about your studies and how this has shaped your work?

B: I have never pursued or received a formal education beyond high school and even that I dropped out off. It has never seemed to fit me the way it was intended. It was like I was walking around in a pair of shoes but with one shoe a size too small for my foot and the other, a size too big. I had to get out out and do something different. So instead, I chose to explore life and art on my own terms. I was the best thing I ever did for me personally and my career.

X: What or who is your biggest influence in terms of style

B: Many things influence my style but one of the biggest influences i think would be art done by children. Nothing in particular just any silly drawings a child would make.

X: What is the main concept and key element of your work?

B: My key element in my art is the unpredictability of it. I pull from a few different styles I have developed and mix them together in varying degrees. By painting this way my portfolio has are consistency that connects one painting with the next while keeping each piece completely different and original.

X: Have you ever confronted any difficulty when creating works?

B: Absolutely, and as stressful as those moments can get sometimes, I see them as positive. It shows me I'm challenging myself artistically. If any artist would say that they never confront difficulties, then their art is probably not worth looking at for too long. In fact, sometimes when I finish a painting that came together too easily I almost feel as if i did something wrong.

X: How did you select the color when you are creating?

B: Usually the theme or message of the painting will dictate what colors i will use. I like to use a wide array of paints, stains, and solvent to achieve the look i want.

X: What kind of lifestyle and personality do those characters in your visual creativity have?

B: I use different characters to communicate different things. For example my use of a brand or corporate icon tends to be a critique or metaphor for something but when I paint characters of my creation, they are usually used to display a certain mood or emotion. I don't give them personalities out of context of the particular painting they are in. This is probably because, up until recently, I rarely used the same character more the once.

X: Which artist or people you admire most? And why

B: I'd have to say I my admire my parents most of all. It is for countless reasons but mainly it is for risking everything when they fled, then Communist Czechoslovakia, to the US with my sister and me. If It was not for their courage to escape then I would have never been afforded the kind of opportunities i have.

X: What is the most important thing in your life? How does it reflect on your work?

B: The most important thing in my life would have to be the well being of my family and closest friends. Their support fuels me to keep doing what I love even when times are hard.

X: What do you expect accomplish in the next five years.

B: I would love to have accomplished or at least made notable progress, in my personal artistic quest to create something truly groundbreaking and original. I am proud of the work I am doing today but it is part of an already established art movement. I want my art to one day grow beyond that. Most people say that everything in art has been done before but i refuse to believe that, as humanity, we have already peeked creatively. History itself dictates the contrary and my goal is to one day be visionary enough to have a hand in arts evolution.

X: Please drop some suggestions to the new visual creators

B: Don't wait for opportunities to find you, make them yourself.
4:35 PM 
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007 

Category: Art and Photography
Originally hailing from Czechoslovakia, Ales "Bask" Hostomsky is a street artist who utilizes various mediums to bring forth socially and politically-aware messages. Bask, whose family fled Czechoslovakia as political exiles in 1984, draws from the iconic, subversive imagery of advertising and propaganda. Bask has been noted as being one of the top contemporary post-graffiti writers-- having been categorized with the same cultural importance as D-Face, Buff Monster, Swoon, Faile, Above, Shepard Fairey, and Banksy.

O.D.
Brian Sherwin: Bask, you are originally from Czechoslovakia. Upon moving to the States with your family you observed the similarities between the communistic iconic propaganda from your youth and the consumer advertising you found in America during your teen years. Can you go into further detail about this relation and how it made an impact on your artistic direction?

Bask: When we moved here in 1984, I was only eight years old so I didn't make the connection until I was much older. But coming from a political system which was very specific on how it delivered its messages and propaganda to its people, it wasn't hard to compare that to the way add agencies and corporations target it's consumer audience. Coming to this conclusion I started to play with icons and the power they held over people not to mention myself.
It's a Fine Line Between a Social Drinker and A Drunk

BS: May I ask why you decided to go by the moniker Bask? Your real name is Ales Hostomsky, correct?

Bask: The alias Bask came at the end of a line of tags I was doing in my teens. I wrote Argus, Ayl, among others and eventually I started to put up Bask when I was seventeen. There isn't a deep story behind the name. I think I just liked how the letters came together. Eventually everybody just called me Bask rather then Ales (pronounced Alesh) and I just rolled with it. Strangely enough, I relate to the name Bask more then Ales these days. Does that make me a schizophrenic, hahaha!

BS: Bask, have you observed any other connections between communism and the American lifestyle?

Bask: Not really. It's actually quit opposite in regards to lifestyle. In an American or western lifestyle you have an abundance of everything where as in an communist system there is a shortage. In America, you're encouraged to make more money, get more credit cards and spend it all. Back in my home country, you bought mostly just what you or your family needed, really needed, not like "need" an XBOX or something.

Installation: Killer Bees

BS: Bask, tell us about your influences. Have you been influenced by other artists? Art movements?

Bask: My influences range quite a bit. It's not just art or other artists for that matter. It changes and moves daily. I could get inspired by a song one day and a fight with my girlfriend the next. I never know when or what it will be, I just know it always comes and goes. But if I was to name a few artists I like, it would be Tes One, Barry Mcgee, Phil Frost, Derek Hess, Sarah Gail Hutcherson, The Seventh Letter Crew among countless others.

Harvey's Cafe

BS: Bask, your work is known for having an "anti-iconic" twist. Sometimes your work offers a satirical worldview... other times there is a strong focus on conveying dark emotion. These pieces often reveal a sense of social and industrial decay-- can you go into further detail about the message you are creating with your art and the social implications that you capture?

Bask: Well, to answer that, I'll have to explain my process a little. I create most of my work on found object like panels and boards I salvage from alleys and dumpsters. Things that people find worthless and frankly a burden to deal with. Most of the things I pick up are larger then what a garbage company likes to deal with. I take one of these panel and layer it with pop imagery, child like scribbles or whatever else it calls for depending on the theme of the work. Finally I clear coat and display it in a museum or gallery. This is how the paintings are born. I have a huge respect for this process and try to accentuate the fact that the painting originated from something that was no longer wanted. Top that off with a social issue or emotion I'm trying to convey visually and the rest just happens naturally. I found if I paint on a new canvas with new brushes my work feels empty and soulless. but if it was born out of something I find in an alley then it enters the process with already having a rich history.
Installation for 2007 Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA.

BS: Bask, your work is richly textured-- you utilize a technique of multi-layered applications. Can you go into further detail about your artistic process. How do you start a piece and when do you know that it is done?

Bask: Well I think my last answer covered most of this question. But how do I know when a painting is finished? I'm not really sure, I guess when I stop working on it. I once heard something to the effect of "a painting I'd never finished, just abandoned" I kind of agree with that. I look at some of my older work and every time I see something I could add or take away from it.
BS: The theme of destruction is obvious in your art-- both in how they are created and the message they contain. However, do you leave room for hope? Or do you see the current socio-political climate as one that will only result in peril... doom?

Bask: I'm definitely an optimist. Actually a lot of my work pokes fun at the elements around us, good or bad. Unfortunately, most good art comes from struggle and a sense helplessness-- as if your only voice to be heard is through your art. The current state of affairs lends itself to the arts pretty well.

BS: Bask, your imagery has appeared in countless publications in both advertising and editorial capacities. Do you ever fear that your work will become the very issue that you rally against? Are you concerned that your work may lose meaning due to advertisement? Are you concerned that your work may end up being seen as just another commercial message? Would you embrace that form of irony?

Bask: I do everything in my power to prevent my work to be viewed in that manner. I turn down a lot of work because I choose not to do commercial work unless I get final approval on how my work is used. It's hard sometimes to turn down good paying gigs, but I look at the big picture, and a few bucks can't buy my integrity. But, with that said, in today's art arena, you have to make yourself known so promotion and advertising comes with the turf. The difference is on what you're addressing and as an artist, what you lend your art to advertise. Is it a new pair of kicks for Nike or a series of new paintings you're displaying at your next show.

Kids Bomb the Suburbs Today

Installation detail: Kids Bomb the Suburbs Today

BS: Bask, your art has been shown at the Florida International Museum as well as the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art-- which also has your work in it's permanent collection. You have shown in Baltimore, Detroit, Miami and Tampa. Where can our readers view your work at this time? Do you have any upcoming exhibitions?

Bask: At this time my work can be viewed at the Public Trust in Dallas Texas, Vitale Gallery in Saint Petersburg Florida, Foundation One Gallery in Atlanta, CPOP Gallery in Detroit, and other galleries in the near future. For anyone wanting to find out more about my current shows or what I have coming up, go to www.myspace.com/BaskInYourThoughtcrimes.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the art world?

Bask: No, I think I'm good. Thanks for the great questions!
I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Bask. Feel free to view my other interviews by clicking on the following link: www.myartspace.com/interviews
Take care, Stay true,
Brian Sherwin
5:54 PM 
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