“Once you simplify the artistic language there is no room for telling stories. Your message should be the emotion. The shortcut to the point of the story. The good thing about abstraction is everybody understand. You don't need to have any education and knowledge.”
- Jan Kaláb
Jan Kaláb’s undulating abstract forms are meticulous yet fluid and delve into both his personal stories and a preoccupation with the infinite. He is a painter, a sculptor, a muralist at the same time, always trying new techniques and pushing each of his skills forward. For his first come back in Shanghai after the world exhibition in 2010 when he took part in the Czech Pavilion, Kaláb is presenting unique and neverseen pieces, a new body of work inspired by Chinese culture, history and religion.
Since his early beginnings, constant improvement and a permanent quest in his creative process has been his mantra. Totally fascinated by colors, he confesses “I could not live without colors”. For his show at Danysz Gallery Shanghai, he learned about the Chinese meaning of colors and the symbolism of numbers, and he is showing new colorful harmonies as a reflection of the soul.
Jan Kaláb has always been looking for symbiosis between colors and shapes. Freeing himself from the angles imposed by the classic canvas, he started building his own frames in 2013 to create sculptural or organic pieces. His art is looking for true purity and goes to the most perfect and smoothest forms to avoid any limitations in the interpretation. Trying to make an art piece as perfect as he can, creating fluid and organic shapes, he is actually creating a universal language.
A Czech artist known for his abstract work, Jan Kaláb is Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. First present and active in the streets where he sprayed his large and angular lettering, he has gradually transformed and enriched his visual language. As he explains, “I started to focus on the interactions of the elements, the intersections, rather than the letters themselves. For me, it was the gateway to the language of abstraction." For this solo show it is a great honor for him to come back to Shanghai, a city that he loves. He got all his inspiration from Chinese culture and offers us an exclusive selection of vibrant new pieces.
