Never

The Artist

Job Smeets (Weert, 1969) is a pioneer in the field of conceptual and sculptural art and design. In 1998 he founded Studio Job, which is now based in the Netherlands and Belgium. In these 25 years, the studio has been involved in more than 400 shows. It is regarded as a leader in contemporary art and sculpture and has become one of the largest one-artist studios in Europe. At the moment, more than 25 people are involved.

Traditional artisans such as sculptors and specialists in bronze casting, stained glass making and hand painting work in Studio Job alongside experts skilled in the use of lasers and 3D printing. In Smeets’ work, technology, science, design and art come together as examples of what can be described as Gesamtkunstwerk – a total work of art or an all-encompassing art form.

Job Smeets uses humor as a means of addressing serious topics such as capitalism, taste and the legacy of art and design. He created a genre he calls “non-modernism.” His idiosyncratic, high-profile works are characterized by pop-cultural, cartoonish allusions and lavish embellishments.

Often described as “Gothic Gothic,” Studio Job’s pieces are imaginative while remaining on the right side of kitschy. Job sees his oeuvre as a continuation of a European tradition. The results vary from works of art in the Metropolitan Museum in New York to the national stamp of the Netherlands featuring the Dutch king (forty million pieces produced).