Resembling a somewhat similar (but in this case tangible) world to that of a Lewis Carroll fantasy, the work of LA-based twins Nikolai and Simon Haas has created a frenzy among the design crowd in recent years.
The Haas Brothers, as they are most commonly known, are from Texas and grew up in the creative world where both parents, a screenwriter and an artist, encouraged them from a very early age to explore the endless space of imagination and the fantasy of experimentation. With a limitless view on the world and what creations they could realise and share they have thankfully never lost that childlike innovativeness or allowed the conforms of the norm to diminish the individuality that now sets them apart from the crowds.
With work so heavily laden in sexual force and palpably provocative paradoxes yet whimsical in their often playful tendencies and colourful inventions, the brothers are best known for their assertive designs that range from biomorphic and imaginative furniture pieces and brashly sexual ornaments to commissioned works of art, all limitless in their ability to be, quite literally, above and beyond all conventionality. Working with plastics and furs, leathers and sheepskins from around the world, cast bronze and an array of specifically chosen woods, theirs’ is a growing collection so unapologetic and outlandishly innovative that one might visit it in a contemporary art museum yet functional enough to invest in for the home.
Completely unfettered by the sometimes typical traps of ego along with the pressures of interpretation and explanation in the art world, the brothers’ ability to rise to the top has been exemplary. It was Toby Maguire who put the duo on the map and in the minds of art enthusiasts when he invited the pair to a meeting with the architectural firm Johnston Marklee who at the time were hired to design his personal office. It is now in fact Tobey Maguire who owns the very first furniture set they created. From there, the duo catapulted to a world of fame in their own right and now have an array of famous clients. Some of their most prolific works include a collaboration with American architect Peter Marina on outfitting Louis Vuitton’s Shanghai store, masks for Lady Gaga, accessories with Donatella Versace and of course the decorating the lobby of L.A hotspot hotel, Ace Hotel.
