Dezeen Magazine

Studio Job's Banana Show exhibition opens in Belgium

Studio Job has created a series of lamps shaped like peeled bananas for an exhibition at Belgium's Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery.

Banana lamp by Studio Job

The gallery in the coastal town of Knokke is currently hosting The Banana Show: a solo exhibition of banana-themed art and design by the Belgian studio, founded by Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel in 2000.

Banana lamp by Studio Job

The limited-edition collection of Banana Lamps comprises seven different lights, designed to look like the yellow fruit.

Banana lamp by Studio Job

It includes five standing models held up in different positions by the curved representations of a banana's peeled skin, as well as a hanging wall light and an oversized version.

Banana lamp by Studio Job

Each light features a polished bronze skin and an etched mouth-blown glass fruit filled with LED lights.

Banana lamp by Studio Job

"Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world... a nice reference to the other icons of the Pop Art, the Marilyns, the Campbell's Soups, the Dollars signs, Coca-Cola... distilling the beauty out of the popular is an art form itself," said a statement from the gallery, which also cited former artist-in-residence Keith Haring as a reference for the exhibition.

The Banana Show also includes the Buoy Mirror, which has a red ring-shaped frame with four white bands and resembles a lifebuoy.

Banana lamps by Studio Job

The facet-cut mirror features sintered glass and hand-painted banana graphics in keeping with the exhibition's theme.

Banana lamp by Studio Job

Seven new ink banana drawings on A2 paper in oak frames will be displayed alongside 30 drawings taken from Job Smeets' archive from 1998 to 2005. The exhibition also coincides with the release of a book entitled Desegnaĵoj – the first monograph of Smeets' drawings.



The studio is also showing new editions to its Paper collection. A wooden desk and a sideboard – both one-offs – are made from polyurethane-coated papier-mâché with polished bronze feet and handles.

Paper Buffet by Studio Job

The exhibition is open until 27 September 2015 at the Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery.

Paper Desk by Studio Job

Studio Job's recent projects include the installation of a roller disco at the Faena Art Center in Buenos Aires, and a table shaped like a train crash to symbolise their romantic break up.

Banana lamps by Studio Job
Studio Job's sketch of their Banana Lamp

The duo isn't the first to model products on fruit. Tokenlights previously designed a set of hand-blown glass pendants based on the fruit of a rare Japanese plant, while Hisakazu Shimizu disguised a lamp as a bowl of candy-coloured glass fruits.