For our latest round of Artist Series Bandanas, we’re partnering with four of the most exciting contemporary artists in the world to bring you a limited collection of timeless, wearable pieces. These beautiful and versatile bandanas can be admired on a wall or worn for protection against the elements, among a million other uses.

Nicasio Fernandez, one of four featured artists, is a New York native but his work is of another planet entirely. His surrealist oil paintings depict goofy, colorful, extraordinary beings doing much more ordinary things in the world. There is always more than meets the eye and one can typically find some sort of metaphor in the goings-on of Fernandez’s pieces. 

You can get your hands on the Nicasio Fernandez edition of The Hundreds Artist Series Bandanas on January 21 from The Hundreds App and Online Shop. A portion of the profits will be donated to a cause very close to the artist’s heart: Give Kids Art in LA. For now, take a look at some of our favorite work by Fernandez and a conversation we had recently with the artist.

Where are you from? When did you start creating art?
I was born and raised in Yonkers, NY. Around 3 years old, I took notice of my brother’s ability to draw cartoon characters and I wanted to emulate what he was making during that time.

How would you describe your artistic style?
It’s a combination of influences from expressionism and surrealism fused with animated aesthetics and subtle humor while capturing the personal and universal human experience within contemporary life. 

How did 2020 impact your life? And your work?
2020 froze me up, at times it was hard to work and get my mind off the stressful events from COVID-19 changing our everyday lives, the eruption of forest fires, the intense political issues, and the constant abuse of police brutality against black and brown communities. I took a step back trying to digest these current events and thought about ways I could reflect this current emotional distraught and uncertainty I was feeling and use it within my work.

Did the quarantine during the pandemic change your creative process at all?
I believe they all have a part in creating some alterations within the work whether it be technical changes like reducing the color palette or working with our new familiar. Change is inevitable.  

When you look back on your work from this era, how will it make you feel?
Looking back on the work made during this time will be a constant reminder of these global moments of isolation, the desire for simple things, and the yearning of connectivity we’ve all come to experience.

Have you ever made wearable art like these bandanas? What does it mean to you that people will use your art as PPE?
Last year, in conjunction with my solo show at Ross+Kramer Gallery, we made T-shirts and donated a portion of the proceeds to the Boys and Girls Club of America, but this is the first time making a bandana. It means a lot knowing that these bandanas can assist in people protecting themselves as we continue to live in this difficult moment of uncertainty. I’m also grateful that people who support this collaboration are helping give back to Art for Kids in order to help provide art supplies to underprivileged kids in Los Angeles. 

What can you tell us about the piece featured on the bandana in particular? What inspired it? How did you choose your palette?
The painting titled Distractions features a glowing green figure at sea set against the horizon line of a warm pink sky and a rounded illuminated sun. The palette was conceived with the thought of how time affects colors, specifically from this light source either rising or setting. Within the figure’s ear, a hook takes charge, grabbing the attention and direction of the figure, showing how the figure is not in charge of its own path. This painting stemmed from a personal narrative at a time when I was being taken out of the studio, having a lot on my mind and not being able to focus due to elements out of my control.

What did you learn this past year that you’ll put to good use in 2021?
I learned a lot about timing, and that it’s alright not to rush things. This halted moment we all experienced helped me take a step back and sit with the work longer than I had before.  

What’s next for you and your art?
I’m grateful to have some solo shows coming up this year and very excited to keep working. I’m finishing up a studio expansion I started earlier last year, so I’ll have more space to paint. I also have a few collaborations coming out soon (something in the 3-dimensional format) that have been in the works for a while, so it’s a great feeling to bring them to life.

How do you like working on a collaboration like this versus your own project? Any dream collaborations you’d like to tackle in the future?
Although both are challenging in their own ways, I do enjoy working on collaborations. It’s an interesting task to rethink these paintings and bring them to exist as a different element than initially intended. I really like what Dior and Louis Vuitton have been doing, I really admire their attention to detail and craftsmanship, so a collaboration with either of them would be amazing.