Pyramid of Makkum: Studio Job
Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Pyramids of Makkum is a collection of five monumental Delftware flower pyramids, or totem-like vases, produced in 2008 by the 16th century Dutch company, Royal Tichelaar Makkum. Offered in a numbered, limited editions, the collection consists of a replica of the 17th century model presently in the Rijksmuseum and four contemporary interpretations of this historic piece, created by leading Dutch artists Hella Jongerius, Studio Job, Jurgen Bey, and Alexander van Slobbe.
For their Pyramid of Makkum, Nynke Tynagel and Job Smeets of Studio Job, took inspiration from the decorative Chinese paintings and details found on the "Traditional Flower Pyramid". When the "Traditional Pyramid" was created Chinese porcelain was very much in favor. The Dutch porcelain makers sought to emulate the narrative and symbolic forms found in this work being imported from the East. They, however, paid little attention to research the symbolism, meaning or ideology and only sought to replicate it. Studio Job, whose work is often rife with contemporary iconography, created a totemic Pyramid, with forms and hand painted details that like that of their Dutch predecessors seeks to create the illusion of meaning but it is nothing more than a random compendium of unrelated elements. The use of gilding with hand painted work recalls a previous series entitled "Still Life" which was a previous collaboration between Job and Makkum.
It appealed to us that the old pyramids had all been shaped from different modules and were entirely hand painted with hectic, bizarre and sometimes seemingly clueless stories, as if in those days the rich were all on opium. The process was intuitive, we made lots of drawings of towers and piles and ended up with this composition, which seems to be anything but a vase. After Job's shaping, Nynke was in charge of the painting, covering the vase in as hectic and chaotic graphics as possible. We love these compositions: happy and horribly close together, just like life itself really. - Studio Job
The series debuted at the 2007 Salone del Mobile in Milan. Exhibitions followed at Moss New York and Moss Gallery Los Angeles. It is now part of the permanent collection of the Zuiderzee Museum in the Netherlands and was recently shown in the Victoria and Albert's Telling Tales exhibition in London.
Pyramids of Makkum complete suite
Inquiries: info@moss-gallery.com
For their Pyramid of Makkum, Nynke Tynagel and Job Smeets of Studio Job, took inspiration from the decorative Chinese paintings and details found on the "Traditional Flower Pyramid". When the "Traditional Pyramid" was created Chinese porcelain was very much in favor. The Dutch porcelain makers sought to emulate the narrative and symbolic forms found in this work being imported from the East. They, however, paid little attention to research the symbolism, meaning or ideology and only sought to replicate it. Studio Job, whose work is often rife with contemporary iconography, created a totemic Pyramid, with forms and hand painted details that like that of their Dutch predecessors seeks to create the illusion of meaning but it is nothing more than a random compendium of unrelated elements. The use of gilding with hand painted work recalls a previous series entitled "Still Life" which was a previous collaboration between Job and Makkum.
It appealed to us that the old pyramids had all been shaped from different modules and were entirely hand painted with hectic, bizarre and sometimes seemingly clueless stories, as if in those days the rich were all on opium. The process was intuitive, we made lots of drawings of towers and piles and ended up with this composition, which seems to be anything but a vase. After Job's shaping, Nynke was in charge of the painting, covering the vase in as hectic and chaotic graphics as possible. We love these compositions: happy and horribly close together, just like life itself really. - Studio Job
The series debuted at the 2007 Salone del Mobile in Milan. Exhibitions followed at Moss New York and Moss Gallery Los Angeles. It is now part of the permanent collection of the Zuiderzee Museum in the Netherlands and was recently shown in the Victoria and Albert's Telling Tales exhibition in London.
Pyramids of Makkum complete suite
Inquiries: info@moss-gallery.com
