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]
