Job Smeets

Job Smeets in his Antwerp Apartment, 2018

Job Smeets (born 19 December 1969) is a Belgian contemporary conceptual and sculptural artist and designer and founder of Studio Job based in Antwerp, Belgium. Known for producing "high-end works toying with politically loaded signifiers",[1] he combines traditional and modern techniques to produce art and design objects.

Early career

Job Smeets was born in Hamont-Achel, Belgium. Before moving to Eindhoven in the Netherlands to study, he graduated cum laude in 1996 from the Eindhoven Design Academy. During his studies, he formed 'Oval Design' with Hugo Timmermans, a design agency that launched the clock 'Take your Time' with which Smeets had his first solo show 'Oval in The House' at Frozen Fountain, Amsterdam in 1995.[2] They then developed inflatable lamps 'Bumperlights' for Droog Design that where exhibited at the 'Plastic New Treat' show in Milan in 1996.[3][4] Job Smeets founded his own art and design studio 'Studio Job' in 1998.[5][6]

Work

Job Smeets Jobby Launch

Studio Job's artwork ranges from unique bronze artwork in the Metropolitan Museum, New York,[7] to a royal stamp featuring the Dutch King (forty million pieces produced)[8][9] from the unique life-size bronze sculptures on Miami Beach for Faena,[10] to the one-off Wunderkammer curiosity cabinet that Studio Job produced for Swarovski in Innsbruck.[11]

Under the direction of Job Smeets with a studio in Milan, Italy[12][13] and the atelier in Tilburg, Netherlands, Studio Job work across many areas including art, design, fashion, architecture, automotive and interior design having worked on projects including sculptures for Swarovski,[14] Barneys,[15] Viktor & Rolf[16] and Land Rover,[17] and product collections for brands such as Alessi,[18] Moooi,[19] Bisazza,[20] Swatch,[21] Gufram, and Disaronno.[22] In 2017 Studio Job teamed up with Italian manufacturer Seletti to form the joint brand BLOW producing products in the pop spirit.[23] Job Smeets has produced work for various galleries including Carpenters Workshop Gallery,[5] Moss Gallery New York,[24][25] Dilmos Milano, Fondazione Bisazza[26] and Chamber New York[27][28] where he curated and coordinated the gallery's launch collection and book.[29]

Studio Job are ranked in the press as one of the world’s most influential players within design and art.[30] Their collectable work is said to create a bridge between object and product by merging art and graphics.[31][32][33]

He has completed four solo shows as an individual and over 82 solo shows as Studio Job including Groningen Museum 2003, 2006, 2007, 2011 & 2012,

He has also turned his attentions to the world of textiles, designing the patterns of luxury carpets.[34]

Writing

Job Smeets has written for various books and magazines. In 2011 he wrote a regular column in the Financial Times UK [35] and, more recently, a monthly column in design magazine WOTH, Netherlands [36] and his own six books including Monkey Business, Book of Job, and regularly lectures internationally on art and design like for example at the V&A Museum in 2015[37] and Cooper Union, New York in 2010.[38]

Personal life

Living room of the Studio Job Headquarters, 2018

Job Smeets currently resides in Milan Italy[13] with his partner Rebecca Sharkey they had their first child Elvis Sharkey-Smeets together in May 2020. He split from his graphic designer partner Nynke Tynagel in 2015. They marked the occasion of their split with a bronze art piece: the Train Crash table.[39]

References

  1. ^ "High-End Works Toying With Politically Loaded Signifiers". The New York Times. 2016-03-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  2. ^ "Job Smeets". www.kunstbus.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  3. ^ "Plastics New Treat | Droog − a different perspective on design". www.droog.com. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  4. ^ Redactie (2000-10-09). "Studio Job Expositie – ArchiNed". ArchiNed (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  5. ^ a b "Carpenters Workshop Gallery". carpentersworkshopgallery.com. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  6. ^ "Studio Job news, design and interviews | Dezeen". Dezeen. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  7. ^ Magazine, Wallpaper* (2017-07-27). "From furniture to jewellery, Ettore Sottsass' revolutionary legacy is an eclectic one". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  8. ^ "Prinses Mabel prijst Studio Job". Royalty Online (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  9. ^ "Studio Job designs a stamp for King Willem-Alexander | design | Dezeen". Dezeen. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  10. ^ "Studio Job: Tree of Life". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  11. ^ "The Wunderkammer by Studio Job at Swarovski Kristallwelten". Frame Publishers. 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  12. ^ Dardana, Testo Cecilia (2019-04-19). "Il mondo fantastico di Studio Job tutto in una casa di Milano". Living (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  13. ^ a b Murialdo, Eugenia (2019-04-13). "Studio Job's New Home in Milan". ELLE Decor (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  14. ^ "Wunderkammer van Studio Job". residence.nl. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  15. ^ Viladas, Pilar. "Studio Job Is Taking Over the Barneys New York Windows and Everything Else This Holiday Season". W Magazine. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  16. ^ "Rebellious Sophistication by Studio Job for Viktor & Rolf". Frame Publishers. 2013-03-10. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  17. ^ Magazine, Wallpaper* (2013-05-02). "Studio Job gives the Land Rover Defender a bold new look to mark its 65th anniversary". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  18. ^ "Le Monde.fr - Actualités et Infos en France et dans le monde". Le Monde.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  19. ^ "Designs by Marcel Wanders and Studio Job in Moooi's latest collection". Dezeen. 2014-04-03. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  20. ^ "Bisazza launches new wooden mosaic collection by Studio Job | Wallpaper". Wallpaper. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  21. ^ "Gevonden: het perfecte horloge voor design- en punkliefhebbers". Esquire (in Dutch). 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  22. ^ "Disaronno x Studio Job | Wonderland Magazine". Wonderland. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  23. ^ "Studio Job and Seletti Collaborate For Fast Food Furniture Design at Maison & Objet | Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  24. ^ "Bavaria by Studio Job | Dezeen". Dezeen. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  25. ^ "Pieces from Moss Gallery | Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  26. ^ "Bisazza Foundation opens | Domus Web". Domus. 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  27. ^ "Studio Job — Chamber". Chamber. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  28. ^ "chamber presents a decade of studio job at new york's armory show". designboom | architecture & design magazine. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  29. ^ "Chamber design gallery opens in New York's Chelsea". Dezeen. 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  30. ^ "Studio Job". WHYTT Magazine. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  31. ^ Magazine, Wallpaper*. "Studio Job | Wallpaper* Magazine | Wallpaper* Magazine". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  32. ^ Ryder, Bethan (2016-05-05). "In Conversation: Studio Job". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  33. ^ "Job Smeets (1970) is één van de invloedrijkste kunstenaars van deze tijd". Zakenblad (in Dutch). 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  34. ^ "Studio Job's carpets designed for the Nodus collections". Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  35. ^ "Diary of a Somebody: Job Smeets | SQUARE LUXURY". squa.re. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  36. ^ "The Studio Job Bismarck". WOTH (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  37. ^ "Defining Luxury: Job Smeets and Jan Boelen in Conversation". V&A. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  38. ^ "BOOK OF JOB - Lecture with Artist and Designer Job Smeets of Studio Job - Upcoming.org Archive". archive.upcoming.org. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  39. ^ "Studio Job sculpts "autobiographical" train crash table". Dezeen. 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
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