Jan Kaláb
The life milestone of 40 years led Jan Kaláb, a painter, sculptor and nowadays only an occasional writer and muralist, to the decision to publish his first monograph, which is created in collaboration with journalist and theorist Petr Volf and graphic designer Jan Novák. On the 300 pages of the narrative publication, which will be published at the beginning of the exhibition at the Trafo Gallery, you will find the first pieces, trains, murals, a number of records from foreign realizations in public space, a selection of significant works from different time periods with commentary and, in addition, a comprehensive interview summarizing Kalab's life approach, enthusiasm and joy from the author's work and his life.
"...It happened a couple of times that I felt absolute happiness while creating, that I was at the source and knew exactly what I was doing. Sometimes it comes just before the final push to complete the work that I know I have moved on and exceeded my capabilities…”
The book will be launched at the opening of a separate exhibition, which will present a selection of works from current painting, tailored to his home gallery, where he has been standing since its inception in 2006. As part of his artistic development, Kalab initially devoted himself to graffiti and street art, after his studies at VŠUP and AVU, he smoothly transitioned to abstract painting, where, compared to other painters, he got used to reducing the area - from the previously several-meter wall to the canvas format, today, for him, often in a typical geometric shape that he makes himself.
Accompanying events to the exhibition include, among other things, the installation of more than 50 small plaster punts, so-called dragons in the streets of Prague, the planned painting of the facade in Komunardů Street in Prague 7.
