Groninger Museum Presents a Solo Exhibition of the World-famous Designs of of Studio Job

Written by Harold Durning Sunday, 25 December 2011 22:53

GRONINGEN, NL - On exhibition until 4 March 2012, the Groninger Museum presents the exhibition entitled Studio Job & the Groninger Museum. The exhibition displays the world-famous designs of Studio Job, which consists of Job Smeets (1970) and Nynke Tynagel (1977). In the past ten years, the Groninger Museum has accumulated a substantial collection of work by Studio Job. Important series such as Homework (2006-2007) and Robber Baron (2007) illustrate Studio Job’s virtuoso handling of extraordinary materials and extreme techniques. But the archetypical and monumental objects show, above all, an expressive engagement at the interface of art and design. The Groninger Museum has been following Studio Job closely since 2001, and currently possesses the largest collection of their products. In December 2010, as a component of the building revitalization that has just been completed, the Museum opened a new reception area conceived by the designers: the Job Lounge.

Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel both graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven. In 1998, Smeets founded Studio Job and two years later, after her graduation, Tynagel joined him in the enterprise. The duo became known for their caricatural and non-scaled designs, such as Curved Cabinet (1999) and Craft (2001), by means of which they gave commentary on widely held ideas within the world of design.

In the past few years, Studio Job has worked with various partners, including Royal Tichelaar Makkum, Moooi, Swarovski, Bisazza and Venini. Furthermore, Smeets and Tynagel have presented their work in leading galleries all over the world and many private and public collections now contain examples of this work.


The solo exhibition is the result of a unique relationship between the designers and the Museum, where the Museum occasionally assumed the role of sparring partner as well as that of co-producer. The exhibition shows the exceptional interaction and most important artistic developments of Studio Job. The key works, determinative series, and the products of major co-operative ventures with external partners illustrate the versatility and conceptual stratification of the work of Studio Job. Thanks to the presentation of a large and important section of the oeuvre, the mutual connections within the body of work and their artistic significance are brought to the forefront.

Although not as well known as other Dutch institutions of fine art, the Groninger Museum was founded in 1894. The opening of its new building in 1994[1] caused a sensation and it has since established a reputation of being among the finest museums in the nation.

Alderman Ypke Gietema, a strong proponent of the new museum, was responsible for siting the museum at its present location despite acrimonious objections. During site preparation, protesters managed to halt construction in high court for one year. Citizen's objections centered on the controversial design, fearing their homes would not sell with such a peculiar and eccentric structure nearby. Despite controversy, building resumed in 1992 and it was completed in 1994. Local residents had to get used to the shapes and colours of the building, but it soon became a popular success. The Groninger Museum is the home to various expositions of local, national, and international works of art, most of them modern and abstract. Some have provoked controversy, like the photo exhibition of Andres Serrano, but others are more main stream, such as the exhibition of the works by Ilya Repin, the "Russian Rembrandt".

Visit The Groninger Museum at : www.groningermuseum.nl/en

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