“The Strawberry Tree” (2024), cast bronze, blown glass, glass beads, Pele de Tigre marble, and light, 171 x 188 x 176 inches. Photo by Kevin Todora. All images courtesy of the Nasher Sculpture Center, shared with permission
A bizarre botanical collection sprouts from the grounds at Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. A tall, spindly specimen with a droopy head illuminates a walkway, while a sprawling tree lush with strawberries looms large in a gallery. Patinaed in an otherworldly blue, these cast bronze sculptures seem like they’ve emerged from a radioactive swamp or been transplanted from a distant planet.
On view in the exhibition Moonlight, the strange organisms are the latest project from fraternal twins Nikolai and Simon Haas, who work together as the Haas Brothers. The pair conjure a magical nighttime glow with formidable sculptures that double as lamps. Outfitted with lights, each work approaches functionality with a fantastical bent, preferring to radiate from suspended glass strawberries or a singular, cycloptic bulb in the case of “Emergent Zoidberg.”
A tribute to a character from Matt Groening’s animated series Futurama, the plump figure twists around and cranks its neck sideways, its flailing mouth frills encircling the light. Other childhood favorites figure into the exhibition, too, including the Wooden Wiggly Snake with its signature writhing body. The brothers emulated such familiar forms through 3D computer graphics software, ultimately transforming a simple streetlamp into a whimsical character.
If you’re in Dallas, see Moonlight through August 25. Otherwise, find more from the artists on Instagram.
Detail of “The Strawberry Tree” (2024), cast bronze, blown glass, glass beads, Pele de Tigre marble, and light, 171 x 188 x 176 inches. Photo by Kevin Todora
“Emergent Zoidberg” (2024), cast bronze and light, 96 x 62 5/8 x 62 1/8 inches. Photo by Kevin Todora
Detail of “Emergent Zoidberg” (2024), cast bronze and light, 96 x 62 5/8 x 62 1/8 inches. Photo by Kevin Todora
Detail of “The Strawberry Tree” (2024), cast bronze, blown glass, glass beads, Pele de Tigre marble, and light, 171 x 188 x 176 inches. Photo by Simon Haas
Detail of “The Strawberry Tree” (2024), cast bronze, blown glass, glass beads, Pele de Tigre marble, and light, 171 x 188 x 176 inches. Photo by Simon Haas
“A Light in the Streets and a Freak in the Sheets” (2023), cast bronze and light, 193 x 35 5/8 x 52 1/4 inches. Photo by Kevin Todora
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