BY SAM FALB
Being a twin means never getting to be just one person; as CULTURED‘s resident twin, I know this all too well.
In the art world, where identity, authorship, and point of view are currencies unto themselves, that doubling can be both complication and creative advantage. Reader, I’ll let you in on a secret: what began as a stray office observation about the presence of twins in the art world quickly became a surprisingly slippery reporting assignment. There is no neat census of art-world twins, and no particular reason that twins should be disproportionately drawn to galleries, museums, or studio-led lives. And yet, once I started collecting names, they seemed to be everywhere.
Enter artists Nikolai and Simon Haas, photographers Elliot and Erick Jiménez, David Zwirner gallery’s Julia and Katherine Lukacher, and arts patron Valeria Napoleone and designer Stefania Pramma, for whom twinning has meant a lifetime of creative and professional cross-pollination. The Lukachers grew up around museums and historic homes before finding their way to David Zwirner. The Jiménez brothers turned being constantly treated as a unit into a reason to experiment creatively. Napoleone and Pramma describe their relationship as two acts of vision spanning art, fashion, and philanthropy. The Haas Brothers have turned shared authorship into an entire creative practice, complete with a studio that once housed three other twins. *It should go without saying that this is in no way an exhaustive list—art-world twins began coming out of the woodwork soon after this article was originally published.
For CULTURED’s survey of twins in the art world, I went looking for some version of my experience in theirs. What I found instead were relationships that made me reconsider the things I had always taken for granted about twindom: how much of ourselves is shared versus chosen, and how wonderfully strange it is to become a specialized individual alongside someone who started exactly where you did.
Nikolai and Simon Haas. Photography by Milan Aguirre.Nikolai and Simon Haas, artists
Nikolai and Simon Haas, the artist duo known as the Haas Brothers, have made the act of creating together the foundation of their practice. Working across sculpture, design, and installation, the brothers have developed a singular artistic language, embracing shared authorship in whimsical design and vibrant color. Their Los Angeles studio has become an extension of that philosophy, and at one point, even housed three other twins. On September 27, they will open a solo (or duo, rather) show at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas.
Can you read each other’s minds?
Simon Haas: We can read each other’s minds to an extent—we know each other so well that we know how the other will probably react. We do have many moments where each of us will independently come up with something, and tell each other at the same time.
Who’s the bigger critic?
Nikolai Haas: We’re both critical, and we rely on each other’s support and criticism. When we are both excited about the thing we are making, the work reaches a much higher standard. I think Simon is a lot smarter and more empathic than I am, so I’ll always trust his instincts. But I’m very emotive, and I work a lot, so I really need a filter.
Simon: I am! It’s not that I’m a grouch, I’m just wired to pick things apart. Niki has a much more fluid way of working and I am a step-by-step kind of person.
Do you know other creative twins? How did you find each other?
Nikolai: Twins do find each other. It’s almost like its own little subculture. We understand each other the second we meet because there is a universal twin experience. You won’t get it unless you’re a twin.
Simon: At one point, we had three twins, excluding us, working with us in our studio!
What’s your theory for how you ended up in the same industry?
Nikolai: We work seamlessly together and always have. You might as well ask how both of your feet started working together to move you around.
Simon: I think we actually tried to individuate and go our separate ways, but it just wasn’t going to happen. We did grow up in a household that was wildly creative, so it’s no surprise to me that we both wound up in this field. What’s great is that each of us has a very different approach to making work—we took our upbringing and used it in very different ways. Our work is a singular vision made from two very different points of view.
Who holds a grudge?
Nikolai: I think we both used to, but don’t any longer. We’re in our 40s now. A grudge will make us unhappy and sick. Luckily, a lot of our life recently has been about moving on and reconnecting with people we’ve been in fights with. It feels a whole lot better to eat some humble pie than to sit on a grudge for years and years.
Simon: I was a real grudge-holder, but as a sober person, I have learned that resentments will take me out. I do my best to turn it around quickly, but that’s practiced—not exactly natural to me.
Photography by Milan Aguirre.
What, if anything, has being a twin in the art world taught you?
Nikolai: Long-term relationships are worth nurturing even when things are hard. It’s also nice to be a pair—neither of us has to take the credit or responsibility alone. There’s almost an anonymity to “The Haas Brothers” that I appreciate in my personal life.
Simon: Shared authorship is amazing—I get to be proud of our work but I also get to look at it as a fan because I’m not the sole author. What I’ve learned more than anything is that you pick up more twins along the way, meaning other people who you rely on and trust with everything who become part of your identity. For example, CULTURED gave us our first magazine cover, so CULTURED is part of our identity.
What twins do you relate to most?
Nikolai: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Twins. [Laughs]
Do you think being a twin pushed you to be more creative?
Nikolai: Being twins just means having mutual creative support that helped us nurture bigger visions early on. A creative path was easy to fall into.
Simon: I’d say it has created an environment where creativity is easy—we have a safety net in one another and inspire each other.
What’s something people get wrong about twins?
Simon: That what is good for one will automatically be good for the other.
Nikolai: We don’t live together, and if you’re inviting us to work with you in another city, for god’s sake, don’t book us a shared hotel room! We’re adult men!
Have you ever let someone believe you were the other twin?
Nikolai: That never happens visually with people that actually know us. We look really different, but if someone doesn’t know us well, they’ll mix us up. I’ll let it slide, just to be polite.
Simon: I would if I could.
What’s the rudest question people ask twins?
Nikolai: Who’s the smart twin, who’s the hot twin, et cetera, et cetera… I don’t love being pitted against Simon.
Simon: I honestly don’t get many rude questions about it. I think identical twins might get more of these.
If you had to curate an exhibition about your twin, what’s the title? Don’t hold back.
Nikolai: “My Brilliant Twin.”
