David Sutherland loved the cabinet on sight. The showroom owner first laid eyes on it in an issue of Objekt International. Crafted by artists Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job, the piece is inspired by the robber barons of the 19th century — despots, oligarchs, and financiers. Sutherland bought it at the Carpenters Workshop in London and transported it home “very carefully by air freight to Miami and then by truck to Dallas,” he says. Sutherland notes that the stories of war and industry are cast in bronze in panels on all sides. “The ‘shotgun’ hole through the center is, in a way, laying low the greed and avarice so evident in the details,” he says.
Here’s some stats on the chest:
- The piece is cast in all bronze and finished in 24-karat gold.
- The artists made five pieces for sale and two artist proofs. This piece is the first artist proof.
- It was designed and executed by Studio Job, which is two artists — Belgium-born Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel from the Netherlands.
- It weighs approximately 2,000 pounds (roughly the weight of a full-grown hippo or elephant).
- “I’ll store tequila in it,” David Sutherland says.
This story was featured in our March/April 2014 issue of D Home.
