Milan 2010: Artists Studio Job have sent us a couple of images of a lighting project they will present in collaboration with Dutch designer Pieke Bergmans for Italian gallery Dilmos in Milan next month.
Called Wonderlamp, the seven lighting objects will combine elements of Studio Job's work scaling up household objects and vessels (see Home Work and Farm projects in our earlier stories) with Bergmans' Light Blubs series of hand-blown, bulging light bulbs (see our earlier stories here and here).
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The text that follows in from Studio Job, written by Jeroen Junte:
Obvious - that is the first thought that comes to mind when considering a collaborative effort between Studio Job and Pieke Bergmans. Obvious, since both designers work with archetypal materials that take their form via coagulation. Studio Job makes monumental objects of cast bronze. In recent years, Bergmans made a name for herself with mouth-blown crystal that coagulates into fluid forms. But especially obvious since both studios place everyday implements in a different, surprising context.
While in most cases 'obvious' is not a good reason to opt for collaboration, in this case the logic behind the partnership guarantees a quality result. And both have a highly personalised vision and style. Where Bergmans, with surprising products, seeks correlation with reality, Studio Job creates a unique fantasy world full of surrealistic elements. These differences offer enough points of contact for a surprising and exciting exchange of ideas.
With project such as Farm and Homework, in the last ten years Studio Job has taken up a unique position in the international world of design. Enlarging everyday products into sculptures endows them with new aesthetic and symbolic value. The wooden soupspoon or the pitchfork is elevated to iconic object. In this, Studio Job is commenting on volatile disposable articles usually associated with design. The relevance of this commentary is underscored by the rising status of Studio Job - what began as a duo (Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel) has since grown into a productive atelier with ten regular artists and a network of producers.
Pieke Bergmans made her international breakthrough in 2008 with Light Bulbs, a series of crystal lamps that refer to the archetypal incandescent lamp. By literally blowing up the bulb, she confirms the iconic status of this light source. She emphasises this traditional way of working by fluidly allowing the crystal to find its new form. At the same time, she places her light sculptures in the present by equipping them with LED's.
Studio Job and Pieke Bergmans are taking the aforementioned projects as point of departure of their collaboration. The light giving bulbs of Bergmans are linked to seven bronze objects from Studio Job. The unique style of both designers remains intact with these WONDERLAMP. At the same time, an alienating object is created with an unexpected function: giving light. This yields seven playful but monumental implements that stir the fantasia and imagination. After earlier dark works by Studio Job such as Robber Baron - a keen commentary on unbridled capitalism - WONDERLAMP strikes a lighter tone. Precisely in these uncertain, almost fearful times, the need is greater than ever for hopeful products that evoke astonishment.
However obvious the collaboration between Studio Job and Pieke Bergmans may be, it is unique in the international world of design, where precisely the personal signature of the designer dominates. In these stimulating insights and unexpected results. For these reasons, this pioneering partnership between these two Dutch studios could even develop into a paradigmatic project.
Hence, the obvious place to present WONDERLAMP is the Salone del Mobile in Milan. After all, for years this annual design fair has been the place where innovative and inspiring design projects are revealed to the world. Since the eighties, Dilmos has been a synonym for research, always open to receive projects and reflection is obviously one of the leading venues for such design.