studio job's new creations at carpenters workshop gallery in paris

studio job
here, there, nowhere
19 january – 11 march 2017
carpenters workshop gallery
paris, france

for its ten year anniversary, london, paris and new york-based carpenters workshop gallery celebrates with a special program of exhibitions, events and many surprises dedicated to a decade at the forefront of collectible design. to start the year, the parisian space hosts an exclusive solo exhibition by renowned design duo studio job called ‘here, there, nowhere’. the show presents a full range of new creations with some of the most emblematic pieces of job smeets and nynke tynagel’s practice, as well as first-time shown drawings. known for their looking-forward approach, the ‘here, there, nowhere’ exhibition is full of provocative designs, revealing studio job’s adaptable craftsmanship. 

‘here, there, nowhere’ exhibition at the carpenters workshop gallery

recognized for their peculiar creatures, hybrid forms and wacky objects, studio job’s work is centered around a kitsch and fanciful world where the object transcends functionality and affirms a new-gothic aesthetic. their figurative resulting pieces achieve a level of storytelling due to the scenes they create in the three-dimensional sphere. completed with iconographic references — many religious —, studio job achieves a blend of humor, history, art and design.

the exhibition is full of provocative designs, revealing studio job’s adaptable craftsmanship

a material favored by the duo who have mastered all its codes, bronze is tamed and endlessly worn down. whether painted, polished, burnished and gilded… the savoir-faire of studio job’s workshop allows them to cut loose from the material’s constraints and grant all its freedoms. depending on the pieces, the use of noble materials such as hand-blown glass and marble are added to the bronze, with which the designers then compose their pieces in very limited editions. essential preliminary stages, drawings and preparatory plans also constitute real works in themselves. amongst the sculptures, four of them will be exhibited in ‘here, there, nowhere’: a new voyage in the studio job galaxy.
studio job | sex cake
2016
polished bronze, hand-blown glass candle, hand painting,
silverleaf, goldleaf, led
h85 l45 w45 cm / h33.5 l17.1 w17.1 in
limited edition: proto + 6 + 3 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

2016 was a great year for studio job who had the largest museum solo show of any contemporary designer in a US museum ever with an exhibition called ‘MAD house’ (see more of this project on designboom here.) they also launched a large public sculpture in miami beach called ‘tree of life’ (see more of this project on designbooom here), sitting between the palm trees and giant normal foster and rem koolhaas blocks.

studio job | sex cake
drawing
courtesy studio job

studio job | banana lamp (model c)
2015
polished bronze, etched mouth-blown glass,
hand painting, led fittings
h16 l34 w25 cm / h6.3 l13.4 w9.8 in
limited edition: proto + 6 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | banana lamp (model c)
2015
polished bronze, etched mouth-blown glass,
hand painting, led fittings
h16 l34 w25 cm / h6.3 l13.4 w9.8 in
limited edition: proto + 6 + 2 ap 
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | banana lamp (model c)
2015
polished bronze, etched mouth-blown glass,
hand painting, led fittings
h16 l34 w25 cm / h6.3 l13.4 w9.8 in
limited edition: proto + 6 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | train crash table
2014
polished and patinated bronze, 24k gilding
h90 l200 w75 cm / h35.4 l78.7 w29.5 in
limited edition: proto + 3 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

as storytellers, the object is never the starting point of a narrative but the whole story. ‘train crash’, an epic collision of two steam trains borrowed from the imagery of western films, has the pretext of a table that despite its imposing mass defies the laws of gravity.

studio job | train crash table
2014
polished and patinated bronze, 24k gilding
h90 l200 w75 cm / h35.4 l78.7 w29.5 in
limited edition: proto + 3 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | train crash table
drawing
courtesy studio job

studio job | cat fight
2014
polished and patinated bronze, hand-blown glass,
hand painting, led light fittings
h65 l80 w40 cm / h25.6 l31.5 w15.7 in
limited edition of 8 + 3 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

alongside great history, grand monuments, cinema, or popular culture, studio job also draws inspiration from the anecdotal to create realistic, but always humorous ‘situational-objects’. for example ‘cat fight’: a brawl between two cats becomes a pretext for a luminous sculpture.

studio job | cat fight
2014
polished and patinated bronze, hand-blown glass,
hand painting, led light fittings
h65 l80 w40 cm / h25.6 l31.5 w15.7 in
limited edition of 8 + 3 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | robber baron buffet
2013
polished and patinated bronze, 24k gilding
h80 l300 w50 cm / h2.6 l9.8 w1.6 feets
limited edition: proto + 5 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | robber baron buffet
2013
polished and patinated bronze, 24k gilding
h80 l300 w50 cm / h2.6 l9.8 w1.6 feets
limited edition: proto + 5 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

studio job | chartres
2009 – 2012
polished and patinated bronze, 24k gold leaf
h170 l155 w102 cm / h66.9 l61 w40.2 in
limited edition: proto + 3 + 2 ap

the piece ‘chartres’, a detailed reconstruction close to the architecture of the cathedral, hides underneath a diptych door entirely covered in obscure figures delicately gilded with leaves. skulls, snakes and insects: iconoclastic symbols convoluted with sarcasm.

studio job | chartres
2009 – 2012
polished and patinated bronze, 24k gold leaf
h170 l155 w102 cm / h66.9 l61 w40.2 in
limited edition: proto + 3 + 2 ap

studio job | big ben (aftermath)
2009 – 2014
polished and patinated bronze, aluminium, brass, 24k gilding
and silverleaf, hand painting, hand-blown glass, westminster
clockworks and gong, led fittings, steel construction, polished
verde guatemala marble, wengé
h250 l120 w120 cm / h98.4 l47.2 w47.2 in
limited edition: proto + 3 + 2 ap
courtesy carpenters workshop gallery

behind the displayed exuberance, the design duo also affirms a satirical and political stance, as in the luminous sculpture ‘big ben (aftermath)’. a reinterpretation of the emblematic london monument and allegory for the western, the work stages their cynical vision of a world in decline.

studio job | big ben (aftermath)
drawing
courtesy studio job

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