Studio Job

"Every expression is a statement." Studio Job Founded in 2000 by Mr. & Mrs. Smeets both Eindhoven Design Academy graduates now based in Antwerp and the Netherlands. The decorative arts of contemporary times are redefined. Their collaboration has created great expressive force, especially one-off or limited edition works, from the beginning. Often cast in bronze or, later, crafted from laser-cut marquetry, the physical potential and malleability of the materials they use is pushed right into the hilt. His approach is more in keeping with that of traditional guilds than any industrialist. Per Studio Job, creation takes precedence over definition. Smeets describes it thus: "Unlike most, they probably don't come from modernity. Studio Job's contribution is that we have rediscovered a lost path. Consciously and carefully, we are positioning decorative arts in the 21st century." Is that design? Whatever. Is that art? Whatever, really." Opulent, complex and ironic, Studio Job combine an extraordinarily high level of craftsmanship with extreme ornamentation. They refer to both the traditional and the current, the organic and the artificial. This narration transmits a tension between the good and the bad of exploring all the facets of each one. Its iconography is at once heraldic and cartoon-like, monumental and yet somehow primitive. Due to this combination of elements, the Studio Job style has become synonymous with the term "neo-gothic". This style is placed within an enigmatic, intellectual framework due to the number and complexity of the symbols and meanings it conveys. Studio Job's work is widely collected in both the public and private sectors. Although, by definition, their work has been primarily aimed at collectors and museums, Studio Job has successfully collaborated with various like-minded brands, eg. Bulgari, Swarovski, Bisazza, Venini, Land Rover, Viktor & Rolf, and Moooi . There have been solo shows in eg New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Milan, Geneva, Miami and Basel. Today, Job Studio's designs are in the collection of more than 40 museums around the world. In 2009 Nynke and Job opened Studio Gallery Job, a curated exhibition space for contemporary art and design based in Antwerp. In 2010 a major monograph entitled 'The Book of Job' was released by the New York publishing house Rizzoli and the Job Studio Hall was opened inside the prestigious Groningen Museum. In 2011, Nynke y Job became a postwar villa at Estudio Casa Job filled with modernist icons and contemporary pieces. The Groninger recently dedicated a massive retrospective accompanied by a new book to celebrate the vast body of work of these world famous creators! studiojob.be