Nelson Hernández (Punta Arenas, 1984)
Nelson Hernández is a Chilean artist trained at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and holds an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London. Born in Patagonia, he develops a pictorial practice that reflects on the effects of globalization on contemporary identity. His experience growing up in a remote territory informs a critical view of how the specific and local are diluted in favor of an increasingly standardized and universal culture. In his work, iconic images from both art history and popular culture are appropriated, displaced, and reinterpreted through a deliberately eclectic use of painterly styles.

This juxtaposition of references—engaging with the critical tradition of pastiche and the strategies of decontextualization explored by artists such as Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter—places the coexistence of the old and the new at the core of his practice. Through these operations, Hernández establishes a dialogue with the history of painting, where technique becomes a conceptual vehicle that probes questions of identity, memory, and representation in the global era.

His work has been exhibited across North and South America, as well as in London and several cities throughout Europe. In 2024, he completed a residency at GlogauAIR, Berlin, and in 2025, he was selected for the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London. His work is held in public and private collections in Chile, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. He lives and works in London.