THE HAAS BROTHERS | “BEAST IN SHOW”

Through meticulous craftsmanship in myriad materials, twin brothers Nikolai and Simon Haas create irreverent sculptures that explore themes like nature, fantasy, and sexuality. Their anthropomorphic works defy categorization, most often occupying the space between fine art and functional objects. Utilizing techniques and media like stone carving, metal casting, ceramics, and beading, the brothers first came to prominence with their furniture designs and home decor, and have since expanded their practice to sculpture and public art. Informed by their creative upbringing and individual artistic pursuits, the Haas Brothers began collaborating in 2010, bringing their respective passions and distinct specialties together to create works that are “bigger than what each would have made on his own.” The brothers, raised by a sculptor father and opera singer mother, originally studied stone carving. Simon went on to pursue painting and Nikolai toured as a musician before they convened in Los Angeles and began their eponymous brand.

In Beast in Show, the Haas Brothers present recent “beast” sculptures ranging in scale from the hand-held to the larger-than-life. These fantastical creatures are an ongoing body of work and are born of earlier biomorphic furniture designs that incorporated shag fur and animalistic feet. Based in an exploration of the emotional states of humans, the beasts are a varied species of distinct personalities and identities, with diverse genders and sexualities. Composed of natural fur from a variety of animals paired with cast bronze or carved wood, the beasts typically only possess legs and horns, leaving viewers to infer personality from gesture and form rather than facial features. With titles like Snail Earnhardt Jr. and Shaggy Gyllenhaal, the beasts are charming, odd, whimsical, and humorous, reflective of the artists’ spirited approach to art making.

January 3 - July 3, 2021 | SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA | text & curating by Ben Tollefson | photos by Aman Shakya, courtesy of SCAD