Bruce Hasson

Bruce Hasson Description

At a time when the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a shocking reminder of the horrors of war, Bruce Hasson’s “Millennia Bell” and “Fortress Bell”  — both cast in carbon steel from melted down guns — stand as a eloquent and timely symbols of peace and reconciliation. 

The four-foot-tall “Millennia Bell,” is a maquette (model) of the original, which weighs 1,700 pounds and was first  installed at the Campidoglio in Rome during the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize Conference as a monument to human survival. Mikhail Gorbachev struck it during its dedication.

Hassan’s three-sided “Fortress Bell” represents the trio of nations — the United States, the Soviet Union and China  — that possessed nuclear weapons during the last years of the Cold War. In this bell, the barrels of the guns can be seen pointing out at the viewer, a startling aspect of the work that reminds us of the threat that nuclear war poses to us all.  When the asked Hasson to include his bells in “Material Matters,” Vladimir Putin had not yet invaded Ukraine. When that terrible event happened, we were even more pleased to present these magnificent representations of peace and disarmament.

A Bay Area artist, Hasson studied at the University of California at Santa Cruz and at the Academia della Belli Arti in Florence. In 1975, he had his first solo show in Florence and spent much of his time in Italy. His many bronzes were cast in Berkeley at expert craftsman Piero Mussi’s Artworks foundry. There, Hasson engaged with sculptors Stephen de Staebler, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Nathan Oliveira, Jack Zajac and Peter Voulkos, who bought some of his  work fresh from the foundry.