ARTISTDOSSIER
in September 2014, in which Studio Job pieces were shown alongside
selections from other artists. For the mad retrospective, rather than
arranging objects by collection or chronology, their concept mixes
design periods in what the pair conceive as “the eccentric interior
of our dream collector,” enabling viewers to ind connections among
otherwise unrelated works. The audio tour interweaves real and
imagined stories of how the pieces entered the collection.
“With this exhibition they play with the idea of relational aes-
thetics,” says mad’s Labaco. Of the 58 objects on view, the sure-to-be-
Instagrammed showstopper is a cast-aluminum and bronze silvered-
and-gilded illuminated sculpture more than 10 feet tall, depicting
King Kong, covered in 150,000 black Swarovski crystals, scaling the
world’s tallest skyscraper while being attacked by three biplanes with
spinning propellers.
In 2009, Studio Job opened an eponymous gallery in Antwerp to
stage exhibitions of its own work as well as that of guest designers and
curators. The irm now offers selected Studio Job editions online,
and, in a move certain to be watched by contemporaries, it has recently
begun designing collections for manufacturers, including wallpaper
and tiles. “If you create a strong identity, you can apply it anywhere,”
says Smeets. Back in the realm of one-off connoisseurship, however,
where a Marc Newson Lockheed Lounge (requiring considerably less
handwork than any Studio Job piece) brought $3.7 million at Phillips
London last April, and where works by Ron Arad sell in the six-
igure range, it’s clear the market for Studio Job has a long way to go
before topping out.98
ART+AUCTION MARCH 2016 (^) | BLOUINARTINFO.COM
FROM TOP: STUDIO JOB; R. REZVANI
Automobile,
2012—13, a
customized
Land Rover
Defender 90, in
sketches and as
finished product.