Nicolaas VAN BEEK (Netherland 1938)
Between 1967 – 1969 van Beek attended the Academie voor Beeldende Kunst en Kunstnijverheid in Arnhem studying fine art and goldsmithery. At the time, the Academy concentrated on researching forms and techniques of certain materials, which is clearly visible in van Beek’s jewellery where he explored sawing and bending aluminium, silver and steel.

van Beek belongs to a group of artists, which included Gijs Bakker and Emmy van Leersum, who played a crucial role in the development of contemporary Dutch jewellery, which saw a stark rejection of traditional jewellery.

Most members of this group had been educated at the Academy in Arnhem, which started buying works as early as the 70s, growing to become one of the most important contemporary Dutch jewellery collections in the Netherlands.