Past event

Haas Brothers: Uncanny Valley

Name: Haas Brothers: Uncanny Valley
Start: 2026-10-29T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-10-29T17:00:00-05:00
Location: Blanton Museum of Art

Thursday, October 29, 2026 at Blanton Museum of Art, Austin

Blanton Museum of Art · Central $15.00

This event has already happened. It took place on Thursday, October 29, 2026. See upcoming events like this

About this event

Collaborators and twin brothers Nikolai and Simon Haas (b. 1984) are known for fantastical sculptures that fuse art, design, and technology. This first mid-career survey, touring nationally, presents selections from major bodies of work the artists have created over the past 15 years. Their colorful biomorphic artworks resemble creatures and plants from another world - intricately crafted in rich materials such as porcelain, bronze, wool, glass beads, fur, and more. Blanton Members get free admission and discounted parking. This is a Weekly Recurring Event Runs from Oct 13, 2026 to Jan 17, 2027 and happens every: Tuesdays: 10:00am - 5:00pm Wednesdays: 10:00am - 5:00pm Thursdays: 10:00am - 5:00pm Fridays: 10:00am - 5:00pm Saturdays: 10:00am - 8:00pm Sundays: 10:00am - 5:00pm

Who's playing

Nikolai and Simon Haas are twin brothers, born in 1984, who work together in a Los Angeles studio. They spent their childhoods in Austin and Texas. They have said the city's public art, local business signs, the Treaty Oak and the moontowers shaped their imagery. Their work mixes art, craft, design and technology, with Simon's systems-minded approach set against Nikolai's playfulness.

What to expect

More than 80 works are arranged as a connected ecosystem. You will see cartoonish furry creatures, porcelain foliage and beaded plants made from hundreds of thousands of glass beads. The Strawberry Tree is a bronze trunk with beaded leaves and glowing glass strawberries. Two large textured paintings from the Accretions series are also on view. The show points back to the pop culture and early digital look of the 1990s and early 2000s, and it also explains how the studio makes its pieces.

Why go

The humor is easy to enjoy, and the craft underneath is serious. Curators describe the show as joyful and relatable, even when the object is a fantastical tree. It is also a homecoming for two artists shaped by Austin, shown at the Blanton, the university's art museum on the edge of campus. The museum is open most of the week, and the show suits a slow afternoon of looking.