About

Jacob Sussman was born and raised in South Florida and recently obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. They are a queer, Jewish ceramicist who critiques expectations, stigma, and social archetypes (both religious and secular) to transform narratives, symbols, and meanings. They utilize traditional building methods hybridized with novel technologies like 3d-scanning  and 3d-printing. They question the way that meaning is prescribed and expectations are formed. They probe what happens when an "immovable object meets an unstoppable force". What new forms are created? What meanings are discovered? How does old and new culture reconcile?

 

They are a nationally exhibited artist, a grantee of the inaugural Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund, and a 2022 Hyundai X RISD Research Fellow. They worked as the Hyundai Biomaterials Assistant at the Edna. W Lawrence Nature Lab and were awarded Graduate Student Employee of the Year and the Innovation award for this role at Rhode Island School of Design. In this position, they taught and guided students, faculty, and Hyundai/KIA designers directly in sustainable thinking, developing bio-based materials, and utilizing digital fabrication technology. 

 

They have a passion for ceramic material sciences and novel material development. They have pushed the boundaries of the material fields by focusing on sustainability through reducing energy consumption, renewable material sourcing, and practical biomaterial development. They ask, “What responsibility do we have as makers of the materials that we use?” and “How can we make our passions more sustainable?”

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