Jacob was born in London in 1978. He has studied the History of Art at York University. He trained with Rupert Spira in 2002, then was assistant to Edmund de Waal in 2003. He has set up numerous Studios in England and now resides in Devon, UK.

Jacob van der Beugel’s work varies in scale from large site-specific architectural installations to gallery based pieces.

In more recent work, Jacob’s preoccupation has lain with interpreting man’s attempts to rationalise the abstract: human identity in DNA samples and disease patterns in epidemiology. Jacob’s output re-humanises these abstractions in an endeavour to depict the human condition. This has led to a highly original usage of materials that all embrace the permanent, such as ceramics and concrete.

The work is meticulously made by hand, embracing the notion that in order to extract meaning from one’s art one needs to employ exceptional levels of effort. Clay and concrete have an extraordinary ability to capture human traces and endeavours, in its conversion from the soft every day and ordinary material to the hard and frozen sculpted object.

Jacob’s work is collected internationally and held in numerous private collections.

Courtesy of the artist’s website.