"…through the skeletons, violent and innocent, their direct graphic forms depict our times which are extravagant and violent. Ours is a story uniting past and future, combining fiction and reality." —Job Smeets
After a visit to New York’s Museum of Natural History, Job Smeets of Studio Job decided to construct a series of furniture that at once takes graphic inspiration from the animal skeletons on view at the museum but also draws on production methods and aesthetics closely linked to Flemish decorative arts and furniture from the Art Deco period. This confluence of historical influences, paired with highly technical and labor-intensive production methods, characterizes Smeets’ larger design philosophy and aesthetic.
Left: Cabinet designed by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, circa 1925. Right: Cabinet by Willem de Rots, circa 1652 from the Rijksmuseum collection.
Describing the “Perished” collection, to which the present screen belongs, Job Smeets has said, “…through the skeletons, violent and innocent, their direct graphic forms depict our times which are extravagant and violent. Ours is a story uniting past and future, combining fiction and reality.” The collection, which also consists of a table, screen, cabinet, and lamp, were all made from tropical woods that have been inlaid with laser-cut silhouettes of animal skeletons. Though aided by computer technology, this highly technical inlay process has antecedents routed in both Flemish decorative arts as well as in the luxurious inlaid Art Deco furniture by designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann.
Provenance
Moss, New York Steven Learner Studio, New York, acquired from the above, circa 2006 Acquired from the above by the present owner, circa 2007
Literature
Job Smeets, Studio Job: The Book of Job, New York, 2010, pp. 104, 288
2006 Macassar ebony-veneered wood, laser-cut bird’s eye maple. Fully extended: 71 1/8 x 79 x 2 in. (180.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm) Produced by Studio Job, Tilburg, the Netherlands. From the edition of 6. Base of one panel inlaid Job.