René Jacobs | Paintings and objects

Introduction

René Jacobs was born on April 20, 1969, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He is married and has two daughters who are 18 years old. He studied Economics at Erasmus University and discovered art and painting later in life. Between 1993 and 2000, he worked as a senior management accountant at P&ONL Containers. Starting in 2000, he began to phase out his business career to become a full-time artist. He opened his own gallery in the historic town of Delft, where he works in the shop window, allowing people to watch him at work. The gallery has been an overwhelming success: since 2006, René Jacobs has sold over 1,000 paintings in 40 countries. Last year, one of his artworks, a “Girl with a Pearl Earring” made of 6,000 plastic dolls, went viral and was featured on national television in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and beyond. Even CNN Indonesia broadcasted an interview with him.

Art

René Jacobs has explored various styles over the years. For him, development and change are crucial elements of his artistry. He relates strongly to a quote by the famous Rotterdam artist Willem de Kooning: “I have to change to stay the same.” Over the years, he has created classical figurative oil paintings and mixed media works, which are partially painted and partly designed on the computer. He has also produced several series of landscapes and seascapes using driftwood. Currently, he is working on what he calls his “interventions”: he paints contemporary scenes or science fiction fantasies into old, existing paintings, sometimes dating back to the 17th century. However, he is primarily focused on creating artworks with his plastic dolls. In his words: “Increasingly, society is encountering problems that impact us as a community and must be solved collectively. Additionally, the population density, especially in an overcrowded country like the Netherlands, is becoming a serious issue. The plastic dolls form a scale model of us as a society and the challenges we face.” He sometimes describes his work as Tragic Realism.

The Dutch Art Exhibition

Given that the exhibition is held in the luxurious Mondrian Hotel and features a painting of the Dutch master Piet Mondrian, René has created his own version of Mondrian’s iconic neo-plasticism paintings with straight lines, rectangular shapes, and primary colors. According to René, these paintings are so well-known and ingrained in the collective memory of humanity that Mondrian lives inside each of us. Everyone knows his works; nobody owns the image of Mondrian. Together, We are Mondrian. René used almost 10,000 plastic dolls to create this exhilarating artwork. From afar, it resembles a carpet; up close, it feels as if you are flying over a dense and immense crowd. Another artwork, “Gold Rush,” explores how, as a species, we never stop seeking more wealth. The use of gold powder on the plastic dolls makes them shine attractively. The wooden frame is made from an antique table. Finally, “Running 4 the Money” is about how each of us must work to earn money. After we earn it, we spend it, so we need to work again. Inside the treadmill, René has glued over €200 in coins, which have a special attraction to the viewer. At the same time, it makes us realize that we are all part of this treadmill.

More information about the art of René Jacobs, visit Art Gallery Voûte. We ship worldwide.