Jacob Dahlgren is educated at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm and at the School of Graphics in Stockholm. In 2007 he represented Sweden in the Nordic pavilion at the Venice Biennale and in 2002 he was nominated for the Finnish art prize Ars Fennica.
Jacob Dahlgren's art is mainly characterized by the use of strong colors, often combined in stripes, squares and graphic patterns. He is called "The striped artist" as a large part of his art is about finding and creating stripes. He also sees himself as a living exhibit as he has promised to wear striped t-shirts every day for the rest of his life. Dahlgren creates his graphic designs with materials such as cans, dartboards, coffee mugs, tiles, carpets, clothes hangers, bathroom scales and insulation.
Dahlgren's art has been exhibited at places such as Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, USA, at Turner Contemporary in Margate, England, at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center/MoMA in New York, Chelsea Art Museum in New York and at Kiasma in Helsinki. Dahlgren is represented at, among others, the Gothenburg Art Museum in Gothenburg and the Kalmar Art Museum.