Category Archives: Exhibitions
Take a look. Now, take another look, and what do you see, or more importantly, what do you feel? The recently launched solo exhibition by renowned Czech artist, Jan Kaláb, in Seoul, Korea at Regina Gallery strives to entice its viewer exactly this, and emotionally take you back to a memory, an experience, or, simply, a moment in your life, where you felt the same feels, emotions, and to move you in whichever way his work may.

“This exhibition is inspired by colors, and shapes which could be found in underwater life. So is the significance of the exhibit title refers to hidden, and very fragile treasures of mother nature. It is my first solo show with Regina gallery in Korea, though we’ve worked together for three years before this, however, due to the pandemic, naturally, our plans were postponed until this moment. This show encompasses entirely new work, and are paintings assembled from multiple canvases to create organic compositions; mostly, relief canvases, and one suspended installation,” says Jan about the show.

Regina gallery echoes Jan and says, “as the exhibition title suggests, Kaláb’s abstract paintings contain dreamy and otherworldly elements. Like encountering coral reefs in the open sea – his works offer a new excitement and guides viewers to a new world. The exhibition invites visitors to a mesmerizing and emotionally-moving celebration of color.”

“Beyond the Atolls” runs until June 10, 2023 at Regina Gallery, located at 10 Teheran-ro 25gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea.

ABOUT JAN KALÁB
Jan Kaláb was born in 1978 in Czechoslovakia and is one of the country’s most notable contemporary artists’ today. His creative roots are based in graffiti, street art, and murals and he is widely recognized within the founding pioneers of the Prague scene. Since then, Jan’s work has evolved to paintings, sculptures, and 3-D graffiti, and he has exhibited in high profile galleries around the world, including New York, Miami, London, Paris, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro. Jan’s work consistently explores new techniques and structures. Through geometrizing morphology, precise acrylic painting, and layered surfaces – he embarks on an analysis of space within a classic ideology, however, redirects the known into the unknown; into a new dimension. With an everlasting commitment, joy of playful discovery, and infinite possibilities, Jan Kaláb’s work is free and vaste. He lives and creates in Prague.

ABOUT REGINA GALLERY
The Regina Gallery is committed to working with private institutions, art collectors, corporations, and other dealers to progress the careers of the artists it represents. The gallery aims to provide an innovative forum for various kinds of art, presenting fine artworks of Korean and international contemporary artists. Working closely with curators, and leading intellectuals in the field, Regina Gallery presents its artists’ work on an international scale, and to firmly establish their contributions to art history in the 21st century and beyond.

Also Read
Ninjin Art makes a big splash at Tokyo’s Flying Teapot

Story submitted by Maximus Communications. The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are only an opinion. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News

Ninjin Art’s newest animation ‘The Night Turns (Mandelgrün)’ has picked all the right numbers for its premiere at The Flying Teapot, a key Tokyo locus for the Japanese avant-garde art scene. With a runtime of 3 minutes 52 seconds, ‘The Night Turns (Mandelgrün)’ combines the kimo-kawaii animation of Cornwall’s Ignatius Rake with the haunting synthesizer sounds of London’s Louis S Hill to tell the story of Reg Cleet, a man abducted by telepathic aliens that look like teeth and who want him to marry their queen and seed the next generation of alien/human hybrids.
Rather than using traditional narrative forms, the animation employs Japanese pager codes to drive the tale on. Dating back to the 1990s, pager codes consist of short number sequences that equate to the sounds, shapes and syllables of common Japanese words, characters and phrases. In eschewing words for numbers, the animation replaces analogue dialogue with digits, something that cannot be similarly achieved with English.
“Mathematics is said to be the language of the Universe and so it seemed only right to use Japanese pager codes for this slightly Surrealistic interstellar saga of love, teeth and extra-terrestrials,” explains Rake. “After all, if telepathic aliens that look like teeth were trying to communicate with us, isn’t it more likely that they would use numbers instead of words?”

“Either way, it was great to work with Louis as his abstract soundscapes were quite a departure from the more beat-driven music I usually use when animating my art,” he continues. This, though, was no conscious decision on either party’s part. Instead, the entire project sprang forth from a random chat in a pub when Rake was in London to film Japanese artist SaiakuNana’s then soon-to-open gallery.
“Louis said he would send me some music he’d made and I said I’d make a video for it and that was that,” Rake says. “We’d neither seen nor heard each other’s work before and there was absolutely no planning or anything. It was all just luck, chance and spontaneity and hopefully more collabs will stem from it soon.”
Meanwhile, Rake reports that it was a “true honour” to premiere ‘The Night Turns (Mandelgrün)’ at The Flying Teapot in Tokyo. “It’s an ace place and the people there really know their onions when it comes to music and animation, so I am delighted that it went down a treat,” he says. “I can’t wait to show more of my work there again and, what’s more, take in more of the highly innovative Japanese art it’s a focus for.”

While ‘The Night Turns (Mandelgrün)’ might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the response Rake received was no storm in a teacup, with the screening followed by an audience-demanded showing of Rake’s ‘Unco Daisuki’. An animated pop-video parody, this particular work landed the Cornish artist a Special Award at last year’s Unco Film Festival in Tokyo and has since become something of a hit with many of The Flying Teapot’s regular frequenters.
Screened this past May 7 as part of The Flying Teapot’s monthly film festival, ‘The Night Turns (Mandelgrün)’ rubbed shoulders with a host of short films and animations from such talented Japanese artists as, among others, Pineapple Midori, Chuzaki Chutaro and event organiser and longstanding Unco Film Festival veteran Uzumaki Makio. Each screening was then followed by an artist presentation and a question-and-answer session conducted solely in Japanese. “I seemed to talk for ages but whether or not the audience understood me is anyone’s guess,” says Rake. “Perhaps I should have used numbers instead.”
‘The Night Turns (Mandelgrün)’ can be watched online at

Cornwall, UK-based Ignatius Rake specialises in making kimo-kawaii animations as well as music videos that often combine animation with live-action footage. To date, he has worked with artists, bands and musicians in and from the UK, Poland and Japan, including SaiakuNana, Hinano Niimi and members of Madness and Dexys Midnight Runners. In 2022, he won a Special Award at the 12th Unco Film Festival in Tokyo and currently has three music videos in the running for the 2023 Japan Indies Music Awards to be held at Tokyo’s Shibuya Milky Way.
Press Release submitted by NinjinArt. The World Art News (WAN) is not liable for the content of this publication. All statements and views expressed herein are only an opinion. Act at your own risk. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. © The World Art News