WorkArt & Culture

Legendary artist Jan Kaláb's circular layered sculptures of colour and geometric form

The kaleidoscope of rainbow layers that make up Jan Kaláb's latest 3D artworks is meant to present a "graphic metaphor of the world, where we can identify and feel the tension between one layer and the other of a surface apparently liquid, where the image transcends its limits until it comes to mutual contamination".

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Curved abstract form with concentric layers of red, orange, yellow, green and blue creating a dynamic, wave-like composition by Jan Kaláb

Originally a pioneering graffiti artist in the Czech Republic, his latest exhibition entitled ZOOOM at MAGMA gallery in Bologna this month will present sixteen sculptures follow his typical style, using a wealth of colours and geometry to create interesting abstract forms.

Among the exhibited works, Blue Sun 0817 is considered a very important step in the artist's research and a stylistic breakthrough carefully developed. In this painting, some parts seem to be enlarged or zoomed under the look of a microscope. The dynamic and vibrant effect of this new technique makes it one of the most representative works of the exhibition.

Jan’s works bare their own organic imperfection. A thin membrane separates these small cells 'evolving' from the underlying background, white and aseptic. The potential existence of these colourful new lives must take up space, by creating a pulsating chromatic energy. The show will present also his classical and appreciated circular canvases in various dimensions, a magnificent sculpture and a fascinating bas-relief.

Jan Kaláb's Blue Sun 0817, a layered circular sculpture with concentric rings of blue, orange, red and yellow, surrounded by smaller coloured spheres on a white background
Vibrant concentric circles of layered colour in blue, red, yellow and orange on white wall, detail from Jan Kaláb's sculptural artwork
Three nested oval shapes with concentric layers of blue, red, orange and yellow, decreasing in size from left to right
Close-up detail of concentric circular layers in shades of teal, green, yellow, orange and red creating a curved graphic form against a white background
Circular artwork with a dark teal centre surrounded by concentric bands of green, yellow, orange and red creating a vibrant rainbow border effect
Concentric spheres in shades of blue, purple, orange and yellow create a nested 3D sculpture with a central purple orb at the core
Concentric circles of bright yellow, lime green and blue layering inward towards a grey centre, with a small yellow and green circular form to the left
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