Jakub Špaňhel / In gremio matris...

church of saint Lawrence in Klatovy

1. 8. - 31. 10. 2020

Jakub Špaňhel (1976) is a painter who did not have to fight for his fame but who was seemingly given it at birth along with his artistic talent. He has lived up to this gift ever since his time at Prague's Academy of Fine Arts in the second half of the 1990s, where he literally dazzled audiences with his graduation work: large-format paintings of church interiors, painted in a grandly expressive, nearly monochrome gestural style with glimmering gold. Another line of work involves the use of paint rollers to repeat micro-motifs or symbols. His project for the Church of St. Lawrence in Klatovy is named after the inscription on the painting of the Virgin Mary of Klatovy, “In gremio matris.” Špaňhel explores the story behind the Klatovy miracle using both his artistic approaches to create large-format paintings whose monumentality is a perfect match for the Baroque church's interior. The exhibition's accompanying program explores the history of the Klatovy miracle painting.