the haas brothers take over R & company gallery in NYC

the haas brothers have debuted a new collection of work at R & company gallery in new york city. entitled ‘king dong come’ the kaleidoscopic collection of figures, large and small, are arranged in an immersive wonderland of an exhibition dedicated to the duo’s largest sculpture: king dong.

the collection is assembled around the duo’s largest sculpture: king dong
all images by joe kramm, courtesy of R & company

known for their charismatic and unapologetically vibrant style, ‘king dong come’ marks the haas brothers’ second solo exhibition at the R & company gallery. a collection of new and old work, the exhibition takes over the entire upper level and is arranged as a sort of spiritual homage to the mighty king dong, the brothers’ largest beast to date. visitors are invited to explore the exhibition as a kind of pilgrimage. divided into two distinct sections, the front gallery takes the form of a magic forest, playing home to an assortment of plants, animals, and everything in between. further back, a carved walnut door (one side marked with a walrus, the other an octopus) leads to the main attraction. it’s in this inner sanctuary that the 9ft tall figure of king dong waits, a shrine-like room that lies at the heart of the collection.

it’s in the shrine-like ‘inner sanctuary’ that the 9ft tall figure of king dong waits

a sense of worship isn’t out of place here: the convergence of art and religion is one of the collection’s main influences. speaking on the topic, niki haas states, ‘I have been thinking a lot about the context of the art world and its value to society in the 21st century, really the best analogy I can draw is the place of religion in the 19th century — the art world at this very pivotal juncture, it can pick the path of positive good or destructive self interest.’ easy to pass off as a parade of colourful critters, the characters that make up this psychedelic entourage are informed as much by spirituality and awareness as playful invention.

the convergence of art and religion is one of the collection’s main influences

a residency at the anderson ranch arts centre in colorado this summer allowed the brothers to explore a new approach to creating, developing a fresh methodology and discovering alternative craft techniques. ‘it’s hard to believe that only two years ago the haas brothers introduced us to a new way of thinking about design and the objects around us,’ says evan snyderman, partner of R & company. ‘niki and simon haas have since brought us into their own fantastic universe , incorporating gender, humour and reason into work that turned the contemporary design world on its head.’ ‘king dong come’ features some of the results of these revelations, with fresh iterations of the brothers’ previous ‘accretion’, ‘beast’ and ‘hex’ series. the result is an assemblage of beasts that manage to embody the many quirks of humanity — better maybe than humans themselves.

‘king dong come’ runs from now until january 5th, 2017, at R & company gallery, new york city.

the characters are informed as much by spirituality and awareness as playful invention