BEAUTY & THE BEAST
Designer/Manufacturer
Simon HasanCirca
2018
Description
London Based artist Simon Hasan carefully molds leather using a 500-year-old armor-making technique, Cuir Bouilli, in which vegetable tanned leather is hardened through the application of heat. Hand formed in London, each work is one-of-a-kind varying slightly in patina, color, and size.
Simon Hasan
Simon Hasan
Born in England in 1973, Simon Hasan studied at the Royal College of Arts in London under Jürgen Bay and Ron Arad, graduating in 2008 with a Master’s degree. Hasan has garnered international attention for his distinctive use of the time-honored Cuir Bouilli technique, the process of boiling leather to harden, and in turn, shape sculptural forms. The time-honored technique dates back to the Medieval Period, then used by craftsmen to create armor. Recognizing the malleable nature of leather, Hasan controls the material by hand to create sculptural works inspired by both the craftsmanship pedigree of leather and modernist design forms.
The artist’s London-based studio is characterized by tactile hands-on experimentation and historic processes to create one-of-a-kind works. For Hasan, much of the process is about control and “identifying a moment when there is just enough of you in it and just enough of the material in it.” Hasan works with leading international galleries, as well as brands like Fendi, Kvadrat, and Poltrona Frau and has been a designer in residence at the highly regarded London Design Museum’s residence program. His works are in the permanent collections of the British Crafts Council, Gewerbe Museum, and Fondazione Fendi.
Simon Hasan
Born in England in 1973, Simon Hasan studied at the Royal College of Arts in London under Jürgen Bay and Ron Arad, graduating in 2008 with a Master’s degree. Hasan has garnered international attention for his distinctive use of the time-honored Cuir Bouilli technique, the process of boiling leather to harden, and in turn, shape sculptural forms. The time-honored technique dates back to the Medieval Period, then used by craftsmen to create armor. Recognizing the malleable nature of leather, Hasan controls the material by hand to create sculptural works inspired by both the craftsmanship pedigree of leather and modernist design forms.
The artist’s London-based studio is characterized by tactile hands-on experimentation and historic processes to create one-of-a-kind works. For Hasan, much of the process is about control and “identifying a moment when there is just enough of you in it and just enough of the material in it.” Hasan works with leading international galleries, as well as brands like Fendi, Kvadrat, and Poltrona Frau and has been a designer in residence at the highly regarded London Design Museum’s residence program. His works are in the permanent collections of the British Crafts Council, Gewerbe Museum, and Fondazione Fendi.
