Modern Master
A STONEMASON CARVES A NICHE IN LIMESTONE
Berthold Haas is best known for his nostalgic-style fireplaces, grottoes and other home features. But the truth is, the artist prefers a contemporary aesthetic. A native of the Black Forest region of Germany, Haas grew up in a place where “baroque was very, very vital.” He recalls, “Seeing monasteries and the crumbling ruins of churches affected me deeply.” Yet, while studying painting in Berlin as a young man, Haas found himself drawn to the iconic designers and artists of the time: Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Alexander Calder and Fernand Léger. “Traditional comes easily to me, but I’m more excited by the contemporary,” he acknowledges.
When Haas moved to Austin with his Texan wife more than 30 years ago, he found himself on familiar ground. “Where I grew up, the geological forms were exactly the same as here. I felt immediately at home with the material,” he says. When a career in painting failed to pan out, Haas soon had plenty of work carving limestone into every form he could dream up—making it look like wood, aging it a century or two, or incorporating copper to achieve an Art Deco look. But his favorite jobs remained the contemporary ones.
His latest project, Fireface—a line of “ready-to-wear” fireplace surrounds—has the artist enthused about the use of clear, sharp lines. “They’re very contemporary, not nostalgic,” Haas adds. Clients are able to select from eight designs they can view online—everything from a mosaic-inlay Italianate crest to a spare circle motif; then, the surround is ordered according to the dimensions of the fireplace. The flat limestone panels are shipped and installed on the receiving end. Haas is thrilled with the artistic freedom this project allows him. “These fireplaces are totally my aesthetic choice. I’m not trying to accommodate an ambience, but to make a piece of art. It’s a huge difference.” After decades of tailoring his vision to that of clients, architects and interior designers, a little artistic autonomy seems like a privilege Haas has earned.
WRITTEN BY JENNY MILLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF STOCKTON