Jan Knap: Windows to Paradise

"The painting is a window into a deeper reality," says Jan Knap. Windows open up visible things that can move a person to look at what lies behind them. Knap conceives his art as a meditation on life. Its seemingly naive and gentle depictions of sacred themes in fact conceal dramas, which the artist conveys in a distinctive way, using Christian symbolism that in his case we might call "contemplative iconography". This method allows the viewer to reflect on individual symbols separately, while within the context of the whole work it reveals a higher meaning. It is an old form of visual language that touches on the very semantics of the term "Andachtsbild", the devotional image.

About the Exhibition

EXHIBITION: Jan Knap: Windows to Paradise

DATES: 04 06 – 18 10 2026 (extended to 01 11 2026)

OPENING: 04 06 2026 at 19:00

VENUE: Arcidiecézní muzeum Olomouc, Gallery

CONCEPT AND CURATORS: Miriam Kolářová, Jan Šícha

PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION: Gabriela Elbelová, Jana Hrbáčová, Miroslav Kindl, Martina Potůčková, Miroslav Schubert, Helena Zápalková

CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION WORK: Jakub Barna, Veronika Klimszová, Anna Píšťková

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Kateřina Puncmannová

LANGUAGE EDITING: Zuzana Henešová

TRANSLATION: Kateřina Báňová

LENDERS: Jan Knap, Archdiocese of Olomouc, Diocese of Litoměřice, Severočeská galerie Litoměřice, private lenders

Museum open: Wednesday–Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This understanding of creation highlights the fact that Knap is known for his perfectionism. He repaints and shifts figures and objects, and often does not consider a painting finished for many years. He constantly strives for what he wishes to express to be executed as well as possible. In his perfectionism we can see his humility and deep reverence before the mystery he contemplates. Into the rigid world of symbols Jan Knap brings vitality and gives it a certain kind of tenderness. We look with him at the sacred, which naturally leads us to inner contemplation. From Knap's paintings a anagogic light breathes out at us, urging us to move upward, toward something that transcends us. Knap's visual expression thus carries the ancient synecdochic function of sacred images: conveying the mystery of salvation.

Publications and Guides

A companion publication with rich written and visual material accompanies the exhibition. Expert voices and friends have their say in it, earlier drawings suggest the artist's development, and reproductions of paintings invite us into Paradise and document his unmistakable painterly hand.

The publication is unfortunately sold out.

Visitors can use an audio guide to the exhibition in the Cabinet of Wonders app, which can be downloaded to phones. Thanks to the use of AI, it is also possible to communicate with the electronic guide.

FOR ADULTS: audio guide to the exhibition "Jan Knap: Windows to Paradise"

FOR CHILDREN: audio guide through the exhibition "Jan Knap: Windows to Paradise"

Jan Knap (*1949)

The painter lives in Planá near Mariánské Lázně, in a Gothic house that he restored.

He previously lived in Germany, Brazil, the USA and Italy.

After fleeing Czechoslovakia in 1969, he studied under Gerhard Richter in Düsseldorf.

His first successes came in Germany, followed by other countries, especially Italy.

He has exhibited in renowned galleries in Europe and the USA, and his work is sought after in Japan and Taiwan.

Jan Knap is one of the most internationally successful Czech artists.