Jacky Zegers

Jacky Zegers: from maths teacher to full-time animal artist

Jacky Zegers is a Dutch artist known for her colourful animal sculptures in pop art style. She started painting as a hobby in 1999, while teaching maths during the day. In 2006 she made the switch to full-time artist. Since then, she has built a distinctive body of work consisting of painted resin sculptures in which animals — dogs, cats, giraffes, cows, birds, rabbits and elephants — take centre stage.

Zegers’ background as a maths teacher is striking: she did not pursue a formal art education but developed her style entirely on her own. This self-taught approach may explain the uninhibited way she uses colour and form — without the rules of the academy, but with a distinctive, instantly recognisable visual language of her own.

How to recognise Zegers’ style

The work of Jacky Zegers can be recognised by a number of consistent elements:

• Extreme use of colour: Zegers works with saturated, high-contrast colours that are far removed from natural animal colours. A dog can be purple, green and orange all at once. The use of colour is her trademark.
• Non-realistic forms: the animals are deliberately stylised. Proportions are off and are meant to be — the focus is on expression and joy, not anatomical accuracy.
• Animals as a universal theme: virtually her entire body of work revolves around animals. Zegers deliberately chooses recognisable, beloved animals that evoke emotion: dogs, cats, giraffes.
• Hand-painted patterns: each sculpture is cast in resin and then hand-painted in Zegers’ signature style, with graphic patterns, stripes and colour blocks.

In terms of style, Zegers fits in the category of artists who create colourful pop art animal sculptures. Like Niloc Pagen and Didi Diaz, she opts for bold colours and stylised animal forms, but where Niloc Pagen works more graphically and Britto more geometrically, Zegers’ approach is more organic and playful.

Zegers collection at Pop Art Statues

At Pop Art Statues you’ll find a rotating collection of over 55 products by Jacky Zegers, starting from €31.50. The range includes mini figures, medium-sized animal sculptures, large sculptures and bronze-look editions. Most sculptures are suitable for indoor use and can be placed on a shelf, windowsill or side table.

Who is Jacky Zegers a good gift for?

Zegers sculptures are a natural choice for animal lovers who also love colour and art. They are particularly popular as gifts for dog lovers — the dog collection is the largest. Also suitable as a gift for someone who has just furnished a new home and is looking for a personal, cheerful accent. The mini figures work well as a thoughtful birthday gift or Christmas gift on a small budget. A larger Zegers sculpture makes an excellent housewarming gift.

Jacky Zegers is less suitable for someone with a sleek, monochrome interior — the sculptures are emphatically present in terms of colour and require a setting that can handle that. For those looking for realistic animal art or for work by academically trained artists, the self-taught and deliberately non-realistic character of Zegers’ work may not be the right fit.

See also

Do you like Jacky Zegers? Also check out Niloc Pagen, Didi Diaz and Britto in our collection.

Frequently asked questions about Jacky Zegers