Cool Hunting
Staged in an immaculate, white gabled space in the Navigli neighborhood in Milan, Studio Job recently previewed their latest monumental work in conjunction with the Eindhoven-based designhuis. The installation, called Farm, draws inspiration from traditional farming economies of the Dutch lowlands, and is composed of twenty-four cast bronze objects and six pieces of Palissander wood furniture.
Continuing the leitmotif developed in last year's Homework series, Studio Job have reduced the detail of elemental objects (a pail, a frying pan, milk bottles) to such a degree, at the same time blowing them up in scale, that they become strangely foreign. Though the press release hailed Farm as an ode to country roots, I found the installation, and the elevated severance of these objects from their customary functions, a rather pastoral gesture that might have been pushed a little further. (See more images of the exhibit after the jump.)
In any case, viewing the work of Studio Job should provoke more than mere approval or disapproval. They're not simply designing chairs, after all. The Farm will move to its permanent home at the Zuiderzeenmuseum in Enkhuizen this June. Meanwhile, you can soon view their Robber Barron collection, which debuted at Design Miami last December, at Moss during ICFF.


|
previous entry Shaun White for Target |
next entry BTL Luggage |
The most talked about exhibition during the Salone del Mobile was that by Maarten Baas. Set within the chaotic mess of a working auto garage in the Zona Tortona, the show covered works to date, along with a preview of new collections for Contrasts Gallery and Established & Sons Limited. The choice of space initially felt to me like a commentary on the hyper-produced...
While the Italians were rightfully celebrating their design legacy at the Triennale with an exhibition called "What is Italian Design?," I find it worth noting that once again, Dutch design was proving to be the most radical, poetic, soul-searching work at the Salone del Mobile. On the last day of the fair, I doubled back to the Zona Tortona to see “reCollections,” an exhibition...
For years, Royal Tichelaar Makkum, the Netherlands' longest extant company, has quietly mounted the most impressive displays of ceramic ware during the Milan Furniture Fair and this year is no exception. Two years ago, they released a hugely successful collection of biscuit ware with Studio Job; last year they launched a unique office collection with Dick van Hoff, which turned the ornamental into the...
The sprawling Spazio Rossana Orlandi was almost a fair unto itself, featuring the annual Design Academy Eindhoven student show and work by Piet Hein Eek, Front, Jaime Hayon, Studio Libertiny and many others. One of the most intriguing pieces on view was a clock by the Stockholm based, Dutch designer Christiaan Postma. For some reason, one of the perennial engagements in design is the...
With all the press and buyers swarming around Milan's Salone del Mobile, I was so happy to wander into a seemingly inauspicious exhibition called "Shapes of Japanese Style." The group show was tucked into the gallery's basement and, like many exhibits of its kind, felt a little thin. That was until my eyes landed on Hidebumi Yamaguchi's IMAnoWa collection. The concept, to encourage users...
Droog's current exhibit on the Foro Buonoparte as part of Milan's design week, called "A Touch of Green," attempts to address the imperfections and issues of sustainability with products that hint at eco-consciousness, while making no pretenses about resolving the matter. Martin Azua's "Plaited fence" is a simple galvanized iron frame stitched together with vertical strings through which users can weave a medley of...
