TECHO ART COLLECTION 2022 and Jan Kaláb

Christmas is around the corner and we are very happy that we could add another artist to our Techo Art Collection. This year is the 27th print, and also T-shirt with the same motif, both the work of artist Jan Kaláb

The story of the Techo Art Collection started in 1996, soon after TECHO itself was established. In 1996 we issued the first limited-edition art print, by Karel Chaba, of the Techo Art Collection of limited-edition prints. Since then, he have on an annual basis carefully selected a new artist, and in time we added an accompanying T-shirt to the art prints. Over twenty-seven years a unique collection has been created of signed limited-edition prints from the best Czech artists.

If you are one of our partners or clients, then as every year you can look forward to an original T-shirt or art print.

Take a look at the whole collection, from the first edition to the current one

Catalog Techo Art Collection 2022

Techo_Art_Collection_2022

Jan Kaláb

*1978

Initially under the nickname Cakes a Point, this artist has been active since 1994. Whilst Point created three dimensional objects and installations, Cakes concentrated mainly on graffiti. Today Jan Kaláb is known primarily for his abstract geometric paintings that transcend the standard picture boundaries. In his work he applies his experience gained from the architectural and sculptural studio, and from the studio of drawing. He is not afraid to experiment and makes extensive use of all techniques offered by modern technology.

Jan Kaláb was born in Prague on the 20th May 1978. In 2006 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, after which, among other things, he worked on setting up the Trafačka cultural centra. In a former transformer building in Prague-Liben he created a space for young and newly active artists. After a number of years, the founders, Jan Kaláb, Jakub Nepraš, Michal Cimala and Blanka Čermáková, moved to the Holešovice marketplace where they ran the private exhibition space, Trafo Gallery.

His art has encompassed the fulfilled dream of painting an entire New York subway wagon, 3D graffiti and street art in the form of plaster inscriptions placed on streets and on walls, and then a natural transition to abstract painting which became a perceptual painting game with geometric elements extending into the third dimension. This is the artistic journey over the years, taken by this artist who uses coloured squares and circles as an obsessive vocabulary for endless variations of depth, time and movement.

Key components within the framework of Kalab’s work are a mix of colourful canvases with various geometric shapes, installations, mural art on private and public buildings. As an example, we can mention the Barevné chodníky (2005), when he coloured the various shapes of patches in the asphalt pavements, and one of his first installations Invaze Pointíků (2004 and 2005), during which he placed several colourful installations across Prague. Also well-known is his long-term experimental project Art in Public, during which he photographs some of his paintings in the streets of various cities. The project also became one of social interaction when he realised that he needs the help of strangers to hold the pictures or otherwise assist. In 2021 the he captured the attention of the local art scene with the exhibition Kód geometrie, which can be characterised as Kaláb’s response to the geometric abstract works of renowned Czech artist Vladislav Mirvald. Also significant is the monograph Point of Space, which contains over three hundred and fifty photographs providing the first complete retrospective of the works by this artist.

Jan Kaláb is one of the most successful artists working today. He exhibited as part of the Metropolis exhibition at Expo in Shanghai (2010), his work can be seen in galleries in the United States and South America, and his paintings Blue Cloud 1234 PM and Vibration in White Ellipse 821 were selected in 2020 and 2021 by prestigious London art company, Sotheby’s. 

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