Based in Cumbria, London-born Jacob Van Der Beugel studied History of Art at York University, followed by an apprenticeship with Rupert Spira and a year spent assisting Edmund de Waal. He is a recipient of a Crafts Council Development Award, and last year won the Grand Designs best-in-show award at Origin.
Black and Red Lidded Jars (25x12cm) by Jacob van der Beugel; Photo Graham Murrell, 2006
Jacob van der Beugel, Ceramist; Photo: Ibby Lanfear 2007
How would you describe your work?
I split my work into two areas. The domestic pieces tend to be very austere and minimal, with a primary focus on texture. My installation pieces are very large, two or three meters long, and based on Dutch 17th-century still lifes, with themes, like memento mori and vanitas, which are often lacking in ceramics, and I hope give the work a depth.
What are the main materials you work with?
Mainly I use stoneware clays with a very dark texture; I find dark materials have more impact. For texture, I crush up broken kiln shelves. These are made of a very refractory ceramic material, which over time will just crack and usually be thrown away, so it's a way of reintroducing them back into something viable. I also pulverise disused bricks, and sandstone, and tip them all into the pot.
Where do you find inspiration?
I'm inspired by potters like Jennifer Lee, who used colour and texture in a banded way. But more and more, I find inspiration in fine art. Antony Gormley's The Field, for instance. And also in work by painters like the abstract expressionist Clyfford Still, and Dutch 17th-century painters, for their technique and precision - the way they depict those shiny surfaces - as well as their themes and symbolism.
What made you become a ceramist?
After studying the theory of art, I wanted to find way of making it, and clay just suited what I wanted to express. I didn't really have any formal training, except during my apprenticeship. I did art A-level and that was about it, so I'm basically self-taught.
How do you see your career developing?
I hope to make very large installation pieces with strong visual impact, but equally I'd like to retain the roots of being a potter making one-off beautiful small pieces. I think the two aren't necessarily incompatible.
Website: www.jvdb-ceramics.com
Email: info@jvdb-ceramics.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 17 6835 1129
Watch Jacob's video
Speaking from Origin 2007, at Somerset House, London, Jacob shows you how texture and materials enhance the organic nature of clay in his ceramics.
Learn/ Read about the Crafts Council Development Award
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