Works on Paper:

The works on paper first started in 2004 and have been in a process of refinement and experimentation to this day.

Despite the art being a contemporary product of the digital age, the artworks have a warm tactile presence. The paper prints use a combination of conservation grade pigment inks, archival bamboo or mulberry washi paper and some have hand-applied gold leaf.

The washi paper is made in Japan and allows the ink to spread and soak into the fibres, so the print is not just a one-way physical record of a digital image. Instead the digital file is only party of the pre-print preparatory process for a specific material output, just as preparing a plate or stone in traditional printmaking methods. Proofs are made, and the results fed back into the adjustments and preparations for the final print.

Strange Creatures

The Strange Creatures series launched in October 2016 on Richard’s 50th birthday at an exhibition at Arndt Fine Art in Gillman Barracks in Singapore. The exhibition was a paired one with an Escher show, and the works were presented as an extension of Escher’s unique tessellations into new mathematics discovered after his death. A book Strange Creatures: Complex Tessellations was launched at the close of the exhibition. If you are interested in the book, there is some more information here. In 2018 a set of 5 prints in a custom folio was produced with Gallery Sun, launched at Art Taipei. The Strange Creatures series continues to grow, with a Strange Creatures II exhibition planned for 2021.

emergent nets

This collection was launched in Taipei in October 2018 two years after the Strange Collection series. It explored the world of space-filling curves, where a single line wanders around the Infinite plane in a fractal structure, eventually visiting every point in the space. These mathematical structures were explored in the Net series, where this line was expressed as a woven net. In each case the beginning and end of the twine is left exposed at the bottom right of the net, and the path can be traced through the complex structure. The Screen series expressed these structures in the form of an architectural screen, while a third series of interlocking rings are the Musica Aperiodica series.

archimedes’ aquatics

This collection was developed between 2018 and 2020, and will be exhibited in 2021. It features a set of tessellated creatures based on Archimedean tilings that can make an infinite series of tessellation patterns. The exhibition will feature a set of scrolls Order and Complexity, which combine regular symmetrical patterns with complex aperiodic patterns. It also includes very large 3m tessellations in the Recombinant series, which combine symmetric patterns that transition one to the next. A set of 24 of the patterns forms a large wall art piece, and is available as a box set. All the artworks come in two colour variants, the “Jewel” set and the “Earth” set.

Three Dimensional Works

Aluminium Panels

Aluminium composite panels are used in architecture and interiors, so Richard Hassell was familiar with the technology and it’s robust character. He developed some panels for the Strange Creatures: Complex Tessellations in 2016 and has continued to experiment with the medium, using cutouts, layers, overworking with alkyd paint and pigments, combining with wooden armatures and with mirror surfaces. The latest work in Art Taipei 2019 used double sided printing in the artwork Snake Knot, pictured above.

tessellated pavilion

The experiments in planar tiling lend themselves to screens that define space. An opportunity working with WOHA Being in the Maison et Objets exhibition in Paris in 2017 came up, to design a pavilion that was pure decoration. The pavilion uses a single panel, which is two sided and can therefore be placed in 8 different orientations. It creates an abstract creeper that grows around the space, and creates a restful complex biophilic atmosphere, despite its’ single repetitive component. Several other screens are in development.

community art - many moons

The nuns at the Baoyun Dharma Drum temple in Taipei were very interested in the parallels between the infinite recursive systems and Buddhist principles and sutras such as the Diamond Sutra. They requested a community artwork where people could participate in the making on an artwork. This piece, Many Moons, is inspired by an ancient poem and made a “pond” in the middle of the exhibition, which has a rain rippled surface that reflects lanterns and the moon. Visitors could write their wishes for the new year on a tile, and add it to the surface. When complete it made a continuous loop of ribbons and lanterns, joining all the prayers of the community to together.

Rugs and Textiles

rug series

Richard Hassell has produced several custom rugs, based on his geometry research. The rugs are hand tufted and use sustainable fabrics such as bamboo, silk and wool.

corak collection with woha being and the rug maker

Working with WOHA being and The Rug Maker in Singapore, a special collection of limited edition rugs have been made. The 5 rugs come in different sizes and shapes, and are numbered and signed, as artwork for the floor.

textiles

Textiles are both an influence and an output of Richard Hassell’s research. Richard has worked with block printing, batik, indigo as well as digital printing, with craftsmen in Japan, Indonesia, China, India and Australia.

Architectural

screens

Screens are an integral element in Asian architecture, landscape and interior design, and Richard Hassell has developed several screens based on his tiling research in metal, wood, plaster and concrete.

facades

Richard Hassell has designed several facades on WOHA Architects projects which apply the tiling research to city scaled surfaces. These projects are in China, Singapore, India and Australia. They combine repetitive production with complex, non-repeating surfaces, and reflect our current understanding of the way patterns in nature are produced by iterative and recursive processes.

tiles

The tiling research is obviously suited to architectural tiles for floors and walls. Richard Hassell has developed tiles in pressed cement, ceramic and carpet tiles, and has some commercial products in development.