"Detroit Vibrations:" The New Leon x Mike Han Collaboration

“What I love about the vision and mission of Leon at this stage is that we’re really about enabling artists to tell their stories, and we want people to be able to experience those stories in a new and different way,” said Noah Kaplan, founder and president of Leon Speakers, when asked about his company’s latest collaboration with artist, Mike Han. 

While speakers and art may not seem like a likely pairing, to Kaplan, the two go hand in hand. An artist himself, art is infused in everything Leon does, and Leon’s vision has always been centered around mixing art with audio and design with technology. 

With such strong roots in the art world, Kaplan is always looking to support artists both near and far, and when he discovered Han’s work earlier this year, he knew immediately that the potential to collaborate was there. 

“I first came across Mike’s work through Playground Detroit, an art gallery and creative talent agency that supports a lot of local up and coming Detroit artists. I ended up buying one of his pieces, and what I love about Mike is that he wanted to meet in person for me to pick it up. I went out to Detroit to meet him in his studio and I knew right away that there was a synergy between us.”

The feeling was mutual and the two began dreaming up a collaborative endeavor that day. 

A Korean-Detroit artist, designer, and self-described “modern vandal,” Han’s work is bold, featuring thick black lines on a stark white background that draws influence from the work of Keith Haring, classic graffiti from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and Korean calligraphy—but with a contemporary and playful touch. “A lot of my work starts with a character, a small piece, one line that builds upon the next,” said Han. “I don’t predetermine the outcome, but I find it through the process of creation.”

“What I was connected to about Mike’s work is that it has a musicality to it,” said Kaplan. “His pieces have a movement and emotion to them, and when I saw that I thought they could be a great fit for our Ente SoundTiles.”

Leon’s Ente SoundTile transforms the stereo system from a speaker into a work of art. Two-channels of reference-grade audio and an amplifier are concealed underneath a perforated metal speaker grille with artwork screen printed on top. The sound tile mounts directly to the wall, appearing more like an art piece than an audio system. 

“Detroit Vibrations” for the Ente SoundTile shown with (left) and without (right) the speaker grille.

“With the Ente SoundTile, I really want to challenge the way that people think about sound,” said Kaplan. “What do you imagine a stereo system to look like? Ente is a new way to experience sound, reimagined through the lens of art and audio.” 

While art for the tiles can be sourced from online art galleries like Rosentiels, a leading publisher of fine art prints, Leon also works with artists to curate and even create exclusive Artist Edition collections for the series. Initially debuting with a selection of iconic fine art photographs from music photographer, Roberto Rabanne, the latest Artist Edition collection for the Ente SoundTile is a series of three paintings (shown below) that Han created exclusively for Leon. 

“I created ‘Detroit Vibrations’ at Leon after connecting with Noah deeply at my studio in Detroit,” said Han. “I had an epiphany this year as I found balance in my work that was revealed by combining separate paintings. They were different yet somehow felt completely at home together. I captured this spirit with the ‘Detroit Vibrations’ triptych, as they work well together but are also complete and stand alone.”

“What I love about the way that Mike creates is that it’s spontaneous, and I think a lot of the feelings you get from music and art are spontaneous; they’re not things you think about, they move you without even trying, and I think that’s especially important now when we’re all in need of a renaissance of spirit,” said Kaplan.

Visit www.leonspeakers.com/mike-han to learn more about the Mike Han Artist Edition Collection for the Ente SoundTile and go to www.thehouseofhan.com to see more of Mike Han’s work, or follow him on Instagram @mikehan_detroit. A version of this article first appeared in Connected Design magazine.