Much has been written about Basso’s houses.

Small, all of them, absolute, geometrical, without doors or windows, no driveways, no reference of domicile, they simply “are”.

Very simply, they are suspended in terrestrial or celestial space. He uses the diminutive to refer to them. In one instance he is quoted as saying “the little house was like a self portrait” symbol of childhood and loss.

“The house is an important referent throughout the history of art. I remember houses in the paintings of Carra, who in turn took them from Giotto. The house symbolizes the maternal uterus, the motherland, the mother earth, three things that represent a single one : the nurturing abode.” ~ Jose Basso

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Josè Basso was born in Chile on 27 June 1949. He graduated with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Chile and became a professor of art at the same institution, while continuing to develop his skill as an artist. His works have been exhibited in numerous international exhibitions and are included in the collections of Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago, Chile and Queen Sofia of Spain’s Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. Having fallen in love with his work while on a trip to Santiago, Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, and sister of John F Kennedy, is also among Basso’s admirers. In 2007 Jose was commissioned to paint an important mural for the Office of Export Administration in Washington, D.C. And in 2011, he was honored with a retrospective of his work at Santiago's National Museum of Fine Arts.