JAN KALAB

In the early 1960s, minimalism prompted new reflections on relationships within space by altering the conception and hanging of artworks, creating pieces that descend from the ceiling, emerge from the walls, on which one can walk... Czech artist Jan Kaláb takes inspiration from this movement in his approach to working with gallery space, inviting the viewer to contemplate the artworks from various perspectives, to move among them rather than simply from one to the next. His recent work, which explores the boundary between painting and sculpture, the interplay of solids and voids in an illusionary game that surprises the viewer, can be experienced from June 28 to July 27, 2024, at Danysz Gallery. The solo exhibition, “Dance of the Void” spans three floors and will feature paintings and installations.
Jan Kalab in his studio, Courtesy of the artist

Jan Kaláb is a Czech artist born in Prague in 1978. A pioneer of graffiti in his country in the 1990s, he now creates forms rife with illusions and spaces that surpass traditional boundaries between media, instead playing on viewers’ perceptions. Impossible to confine to a single medium, his practice spans from painting to sculpture, from installations to new media. After years of graffiti writing, Kaláb continues his exploration of forms, abstraction, and colors, the defining elements of graffiti during his adolescence.
The loss of spatial landmarks is at the center of Kaláb’s work, made in a technique resulting from a long transformation of his graffiti work. His art perfectly illustrates the salutary change in urban practice. Like our society with its “fluidities” (whether in the definition of human genders, the significance of social networks, the redefinition of personal and professional spheres, the search for impact, or even the accessibility of visual art to an increasingly large audience), the work of Jan Kaláb is a perfect, albeit abstract, illustration of a world in constant redefinition, an era defined by its elusive forms. Kaláb’s practice speaks of those forms that nature itself would hardly reveal.

Magda Danysz, 2021
Pastel Serenity wave, 2024

From Venice, where he presented a small installation for the Biennale's inauguration, to the Urban Art Fair in Paris, where he showcased a monumental sculpture opposite the Carreau du Temple, Jan Kaláb stands as an artist in constant evolution. His dynamic approach extends beyond his vibrant color palette to encompass his ever-changing relationship with space. By utilizing all three floors of Danysz Gallery, he skillfully navigates the space to present his evolving works, offering viewers a captivating sensory experience.
Exhibition view © Petr Hricko, courtesy galerie Danysz
Jan Kalan in his studio © Petr Hricko, courtesy galerie Danysz

Born in 1978 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Jan Kaláb is one of the country’s most notable contemporary artists’ today. A founding pioneer of the Prague underground graffiti, and street art scene, formerly known as Cakes, and with his crew, The DSK - together they animated city streets, and spent many sleepless nights in train yards, and perhaps, a few nights too in police stations.

Following those glory days, Jan’s work has evolved to 3-D graffiti, light suspended installations, animated NFTs, paintings, and sculptures. His paintings teeter on the edge of sculpture and his sculptures are mostly painted. All the while, shape and color are the main characters of his work, which he pushes and blends together to exaggerate, or minimize, forms. Sometimes Jan’s work may resemble a particular shape, but it is never his intention to capture, nor replicate an existing image or narrative. Rather, he seeks universal beauty in an unseen and novel perspective, and redirects the known into the unknown, into a new dimension. The sensations of déjà vu, like when remembering a special moment or melody; this is the ultimate feeling, Jan strives to achieve and wishes to resonate with his audience.

A Masters graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts of Prague in 2006, Jan had his first solo exhibition shortly thereafter in 2008 at the acclaimed Trafo Gallery, an exclusive art space notorious for showing only outstanding artists with limited shows of six per year. Since then, Jan has exhibited in high profile galleries around the world, including New York, Miami, London, Paris, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro.
Exhibition views, courtesy galerie Danysz

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