Jan Hooss, Stucco Artist

Jan Hooss, Master restoration and fine artist.

Fantastical, three-dimensional forms creep up walls and across ceilings, subverting the viewer’s perception of where one should end and the other begin.

Jan, Peter, Mischa and I in Jan's studio talking about the project we would do together.

Not utensils, but tools to shape and create with.

First there is a story, then a drawing. Our story started after talking to Peter about his design for his building at 180 East 88th Street with his firm DDG. Plaster would be featured prominently for the interiors. So I thought Jan would make a perfect artistic collaborator. He had just completed a fantastic work for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, taking the rococo into the modern era using an abstract language. What might he do for his first U.S. installation?

Traditionally, stucco was made using lime, sand and water.

So simple a mix can yield such fluid and dynamic shapes. Peter and Jan wanted to play with the idea of fire, as this piece would live above the lobby fireplace.

“Outside my studio in Stuttgart, Germany. This is Robert. I still need to put him together."—Jan Hooss

Final touch-ups before shipping to New York.

Finally in New York. The process of installation has started.

Jan Hooss installing his stuccowork at the 180 East 88th Street sales gallery Peter and I designed.

Waiting patiently to live over the permanent fireplace at the 180 East 88th Street Lobby.