Not anyone can elevate the childhood craft of papier mâché and use it to produce a commercially viable furniture line. But, then, Studio Job isn’t just anyone. From the Paper collection that was conceived for Dutch brand Moooi to a radical 12-foot-tall sculpture of the Burj Khalifa being scaled by King Kong, the Antwerp-based studio has created a plethora of unconventional conversation starters for both the art and design worlds. Starting today, a number of those unusual works will be on display at New York City’s MAD (Museum of Art and Design) — on the atelier’s terms.
Chartres (2009–2012), courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, photo by Adrien Millot
“Studio Job MAD HOUSE” is much more than the studio’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States. The atelier’s partners — Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel — are also offering unique insight into their creative vision and process by, in a sense, curating this show. The duo has transformed two floors of the museum into an immersive experience with 57 of their artworks arranged in imagined narratives, as if in a collector’s own home.
From left: Burj Khalifa (2013–2014), courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, photo by Loek Blonk; Banana (2015), courtesy of Samuel Vanhoegaerden gallery; Monkey Business (2013), courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, in situ photo by Sheila Kim
“Their exhibition concept organizes their work in loose, sometimes contradictory groupings around ideas such as love/lust, agrarian/preindustrial and church/religion,” says Ronald Labaco, MAD’s Marcia Docter senior curator. “These fluid categories underscore Studio Job’s desire for visitors to bring their own interpretation and personal experience to the artwork on view, in effect creating a meta-modern dialogue rooted in engagement and storytelling.”
From left: Bavaria Screen (2008), collection of Michael Maharam, in situ photo by Sheila Kim; Dr. Crützen Illuminator (2011–2012), private collection of Jo Crützen, photo by Robert Kot
The show includes sculpture, wallpaper, lighting, floor coverings, furniture, drawings and other objects created over the past 16 years since the studio’s founding, all of which reflect the pair’s interest in the revival of traditional applied arts and craftsmanship, from marquetry to gilding. There’s the aforementioned Burj Khalifa (2013–2014) with its red-eyed, cast-bronze King Kong. Nearby, other primate-connected pieces displayed include Monkey Business (2013) and Banana (2015), the latter of which is a partially “peeled” golden banana with a glowing lamp inside.
From left: Rock Chair (2014), private collection of Viktor&Rolf, photo by Ad Meewis; Taj Mahal II (2014), courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, photo by Adrien Millot
In another section, a monumental model of the Chartres (2009–2012) cathedral is laid on its side to reveal that its base is a functioning cross-shaped gilded cabinet. And a stained glass window, Dr. Crützen Illuminator (2011–2012) pays homage to medicine in polychrome handblown glass, lead and rosewood. Four pieces in the exhibition are making their international debuts — Pan wall mirror (2015), Pipe table (2015), Sex Cake table lamp (2016) and Sinking Ship table (2016). This also marks the first time that MAD has covered all floors and walls for a show at the behest of the artists.
From left: floor covering specially installed for the MAD exhibition; Job Smeets discussing a drawing for the Pipe table, photos by Sheila Kim; Robber Baron Lamp (2007), courtesy of Groninger Museum, photo by Robert Kot
“Unlike most designers working today, we’re not coming from modernism,” says Smeets. “Our contribution is that we’ve recovered a lost path. Is that design? Is that art? I’m not sure. For us, creation is more important than discipline, and with purpose and precision, we’re situating decorative arts within the 21st century.”
Sketch wall shown in Studio Job: Monkey Business (Rizzoli, New York, 2016), photo by Loek Blonk
“Studio Job MAD HOUSE” runs through August 21, 2016.