The Haas Brothers
An American artist and design duo known for sculptural works, collectible furniture, and experimental home objects.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The Haas Brothers are an American artist and design duo formed by twin brothers Nikolai and Simon Haas. Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1984 and raised in Austin, Texas, the brothers developed a practice that deliberately crosses the boundaries between contemporary art, furniture, sculpture, and decorative design. Their work is frequently recognized for combining unusual forms, tactile surfaces, vivid materials, and a playful visual language with the practical or spatial concerns of design. The brothers began working together professionally in 2009, when they produced bespoke furniture for actor Tobey Maguire. The commission helped establish a wider network of private clients and led to subsequent work for figures including Lady Gaga, Donatella Versace, and architect and designer Peter Marino. In 2010, the brothers formally opened their Los Angeles studio. Their early professional development was connected to New York, but they later moved the center of their practice to Los Angeles in 2013–14, citing the need for a larger and less constrained workspace. Their approach has evolved beyond conventional furniture design. Simon Haas has described a shift away from beginning with function as the primary consideration and toward starting with emotional content. This orientation has allowed the studio to produce objects that may operate as furniture, sculpture, installation, or collectible design depending on their context. Their output includes small and large-scale sculptures, furniture, decorative objects, and highly labor-intensive beadwork pieces. A significant part of the Haas Brothers’ practice has involved collaboration. Beginning in 2013, they worked with Monkeybiz, a South African women’s collective specializing in beadwork. The resulting “Afreaks” works combine the brothers’ sculptural forms with individually made bead coverings and were presented in institutional and exhibition contexts, including the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. The collaboration also used the name “The Haas Sisters” for the participating Monkeybiz makers. The studio has additionally worked with women in Lost Hills, California, facilitating beadwork training and employing the group in the production of bead-based works. In 2019, the brothers expanded their design activity into a luxury home-goods collection with L’OBJET. The collection was also sold through Bergdorf Goodman, linking their gallery and museum practice with a high-end retail environment. Their work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions at institutions including the Bass Museum of Art, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Works are held in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Cooper Hewitt, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. The Haas Brothers are represented by R & Company and Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York, and by Lora Reynolds in Austin. Their current identity is that of a Los Angeles-based studio whose work treats art and design as overlapping fields rather than separate categories. The practice remains centered on the collaboration of the two brothers, while also depending on networks of fabricators, beadworkers, galleries, retail partners, and institutional supporters.
History
Nikolai and Simon Haas were born in Santa Monica, California, in 1984 and grew up in Austin, Texas. Their family background connected them to both performance and visual art: their mother, Emily Tracy, was an opera singer, while their father, Berthold Haas, was a sculptor. Their older brother is actor Lukas Haas. Simon studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, while Nikolai pursued music in Los Angeles with the band RRIICCEE. The brothers’ first recorded collaborative project dates to 2009, when they designed bespoke furniture for actor Tobey Maguire. The commission opened the way to further private commissions, including work for Lady Gaga, Donatella Versace, and Peter Marino. These early projects helped the brothers develop a practice that treated furniture as a vehicle for sculptural experimentation rather than as a purely functional category. They formally opened their studio in Los Angeles in 2010. Although their professional activity was initially associated with New York, the brothers moved the studio to Los Angeles in 2013–14. They explained the relocation in practical terms, describing their former studio as crowded and seeking greater room for ambitious projects. Los Angeles subsequently became the base for a practice spanning furniture, sculpture, installations, and decorative objects. As their work developed, the brothers increasingly emphasized emotional and sensory experience. Simon Haas described a change from approaching projects through function first to beginning with emotional content. This shift is visible in objects that use exaggerated forms, organic references, bright colors, complex textures, and materials that invite close inspection. Their works can occupy several categories at once: a piece may be displayed as sculpture, commissioned as furniture, or produced as part of a home collection. Collaboration has been central to the studio’s development. In 2013, the Haas Brothers began working with Monkeybiz, a South African women’s collective recognized for beadwork. Together they developed the “Afreaks” sculptures, in which sculptural structures by the brothers are combined with elaborate beadwork. The works were included in the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial and became an important example of the studio’s interest in combining design authorship with distributed craft production. The Monkeybiz collaborators were also identified as “The Haas Sisters” in connection with the project. The studio later established a partnership with women in Lost Hills, California, an agricultural community with limited employment opportunities for women. The Haas Brothers helped facilitate beadwork training and employed the participants in creating beadwork components for their objects. This expanded the labor and community dimension of the practice while retaining the studio’s focus on sculptural and decorative forms. The Haas Brothers’ institutional visibility grew through solo and group exhibitions. Their solo exhibition at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami ran from December 2018 to April 2019. Their work has also appeared at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Public and institutional collections holding their work include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Cooper Hewitt, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. In 2019, the brothers entered a more explicit luxury-retail context through a home-goods collection made with L’OBJET. The line was also sold through Bergdorf Goodman. This collaboration extended their visual language from gallery and museum settings into collectible domestic objects and luxury interiors. The Haas Brothers are represented by R & Company and Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York, and by Lora Reynolds in Austin. Their published documentation includes Haas Brothers: Volume One, Haas Brothers: Volume II: Afreaks, and other exhibition and gallery publications. The studio’s continuing identity is grounded in the joint practice of Nikolai and Simon Haas and in a sustained effort to dissolve distinctions between fine art, furniture, craft, and interior objects.
- 2019
L’OBJET home-goods collaboration
[1]The Haas Brothers launched a luxury home-goods collection in collaboration with L’OBJET.
- 2018
Bass Museum solo exhibition
[1]A solo presentation at the Bass Museum of Art opened in December 2018 and continued into April 2019.
- 2013
Monkeybiz collaboration begins
[1]The brothers began collaborating with the South African beadwork collective Monkeybiz on the Afreaks body of work.
- 2013
Studio relocation to Los Angeles
[1]The practice moved from New York to Los Angeles during 2013–14 to obtain more workspace for its projects.
- 2010
Los Angeles studio established
[1]Nikolai and Simon Haas formally opened their studio in Los Angeles.
- 2009
First joint furniture commission
[1]The brothers created bespoke furniture for Tobey Maguire, an early project that led to additional high-profile commissions.
Products and positioning
A contemporary art and design studio positioned between collectible design, sculpture, and luxury interiors. The Haas Brothers emphasize emotional, tactile, and highly characterful objects rather than treating utility as the sole starting point.
Contemporary art
Sculpture
The Haas Brothers produce small- and large-scale sculptures that combine exaggerated or organic forms with rich textures and unusual materials. Their sculptures often sit between fine art and design, functioning as standalone gallery works while also drawing on the visual vocabulary of furniture, interiors, animals, and decorative objects. The works are characterized by an emphasis on emotional response and tactile visual experience.
Furniture · 2009
Bespoke furniture
Bespoke furniture was the brothers’ first major collaborative format, beginning with a 2009 commission for Tobey Maguire. Their furniture treats functional forms as opportunities for sculptural experimentation, allowing tables, seating, and related objects to operate as both usable furnishings and collectible design. Early commissions for prominent private clients helped establish the studio’s profile.
Beaded sculpture · 2013
Afreaks
Afreaks is a collaborative body of sculptural work developed with Monkeybiz, a South African women’s beadwork collective. The works combine the Haas Brothers’ sculptural structures with labor-intensive bead coverings and surface treatments. The project was shown in institutional contexts, including the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, and is associated with the participating makers’ identity as the Haas Sisters.
Luxury home goods · 2019
L’OBJET luxury home-goods collection
Launched in 2019, the L’OBJET collaboration translated the Haas Brothers’ sculptural and decorative language into a luxury home-goods range. The collection extended their practice into retail while maintaining a connection to collectible design and interiors. It was also sold through Bergdorf Goodman.
Craft and design
Beadwork collaborations
Beyond the Monkeybiz partnership, the studio has worked with women from Lost Hills, California, a small agricultural community with limited employment opportunities. The Haas Brothers facilitated beadwork training and employed the participants in producing beadwork elements for their creations, making collaborative craft production an ongoing part of the studio’s design process.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019L’OBJET luxury home-goods collaboration
United States · Luxury home-goods retail
The brothers partnered with L’OBJET to introduce a luxury home-goods collection based on their sculptural design language.
Outcome. The collection was made available through L’OBJET and sold through Bergdorf Goodman.
- 2013Monkeybiz and Afreaks collaboration
South Africa · United States · International art and design exhibitions
The Haas Brothers began working with Monkeybiz, a South African women’s beadwork collective, to create the Afreaks sculptures. The collaboration combined the brothers’ forms with beadwork made by collective members.
Outcome. The resulting works were included in the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial and became a notable part of the studio’s collaborative practice.
Brand decisions
2019
Enter luxury home-goods retail with L’OBJETProduct launchBackground
The Haas Brothers’ practice already operated across collectible design, sculpture, and interiors.
Action taken
They collaborated with L’OBJET on a luxury home-goods collection.
Aftermath
The collection broadened the studio’s distribution into high-end retail, including Bergdorf Goodman.
2013
Move the studio from New York to Los AngelesStrategyBackground
The brothers considered their former New York studio too crowded for the scale and variety of projects they wanted to undertake.
Action taken
They relocated the practice to Los Angeles during 2013–14.
Aftermath
Los Angeles became the continuing base for their studio and its expanding sculpture, furniture, and craft activities.
Recent events
- 2019
The Haas Brothers launched a luxury home-goods collection with L’OBJET[1]
Product launch · Campaign
The brothers introduced a luxury home-goods collaboration with L’OBJET. The collection was also distributed through Bergdorf Goodman.
- 2018
The Haas Brothers presented a solo exhibition at the Bass Museum of Art[1]
Other
The duo held a solo exhibition at Miami’s Bass Museum of Art from December 2018 through April 2019, reinforcing their position within contemporary art and design institutions.
The Haas Brothers’ work appeared in international museum exhibitions[1]
Other
Their work has been included in group exhibitions at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Sources2 sources
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