Born in 1978 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Jan Kaláb is a leading figure in contemporary Czech art, recognized for his dynamic evolution from graffiti pioneer to an artist exploring the intersections of painting, sculpture, and digital media. A founding member of the Prague underground graffiti and street art scene, he was once known as Cakes, tagging city walls and train yards with his crew, The DSK. These formative years laid the foundation for his lifelong fascination with shape, movement, and spatial perception.

Kaláb’s practice has since expanded into three-dimensional graffiti, suspended light installations, animated NFTs, and vibrant sculptural paintings. His work blurs the boundaries between two and three dimensions—his paintings verge on sculpture, while his sculptures embody painterly qualities. Color and form take center stage in his artistic vocabulary, shifting between exaggeration and reduction to create compositions that feel both familiar and entirely new. His work does not seek to imitate existing imagery but instead strives to uncover a universal aesthetic that transcends the known, evoking sensations of déjà vu and fleeting recognition.

A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (2006), Kaláb held his first solo exhibition in 2008 at the acclaimed Trafo Gallery. Since then, his work has entered prominent museum collections, including the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (USA), Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (Brazil), DEJI Art Museum (China), and Osan Museum (South Korea). His pieces are also part of the private collections of Dior and Tiffany. With exhibitions spanning global art capitals—New York, Miami, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, and Taipei—Kaláb continues to redefine artistic boundaries, transforming the familiar into the extraordinary.