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, he and his crew, The DSK, animated the city streets together, spending many sleepless nights in train yards and perhaps a few in police stations too.
Following those glory days, Jan's work has evolved into 3D 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 colour are the main characters of his work, which he pushes and blends together to exaggerate or minimise forms. Sometimes Jan's work may resemble a particular shape, but it is never his intention to capture or replicate an existing image or narrative. Rather, he seeks universal beauty in an unseen and novel perspective, redirecting the known into the unknown, into a new dimension. The sensation of déjà vu, like remembering a special moment or melody, is the ultimate feeling Jan strives to achieve and hopes will resonate with his audience.
Jan graduated with a Master's degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 2006 and had his first solo exhibition shortly thereafter, in 2008, at the acclaimed Trafo Gallery, an exclusive art space known for presenting only outstanding artists, with just four shows per year. Since then, his works have entered the museum collections of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids (USA), the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the DEJI Art Museum (China) and the Osan Museum (South Korea). His artwork is also part of the private collections of Dior and Tiffany. He exhibits with leading galleries in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro and Taipei.