Jakub Špaňhel's reputation as an extraordinary painting talent has accompanied him since his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he studied in the studio of Jiří David and Milan Knížák. Together with Vilém Kabzan, David Adamec, František Matoušek and Michal Novotný, he formed the art group Luxsus, which opposed the trend of conceptual art. The group was active until 1998, and after twenty years it presented itself at the National Technical Library in 2019. Jakub's paintings are permeated by two strands - minimalism, consisting in the mechanical repetition of a motif using a paint roller, and a strong gestural expression through which he records impressions from architecture, decoration and the space of sacred buildings or even secular spaces, such as central banks or petrol stations. His works can be found in many private collections, but also in the possession of the National Gallery in Prague. Špaňhel comes from a catholic family. He has been painting churches since his diploma thesis, which he presented in 2000. Since then he has painted several dozen of them. Most of them, however, were depictions of their interiors, in which he is fascinated by spiritual and physical light. These were usually churches in the Czech Republic, or Germany, France and Spain.
After the beginning of the war in 2022, Jakub Špaňhel created, in collaboration with Telegraph, a beneficiary serigraphy depicting St. Andrew's Church in Kiev, Ukraine. Proceeds from the sale of one hundred pieces, which exceeded half a million crowns, were donated directly to the Embassy of Ukraine.
In addition, he also created serigraphy for the Telegrafika project. This graphic depicts the life cycle of butterflies and evokes the movement and changeability of nature. It can be purchased on our eshop.
Currently, Jakub Špaňhel is associated with Telegraph through his exhibition Game Owner and a project by Danish conceptual artist Søren Dahlgaard called Dough Portraits, which captures dough-headed collectors with their favourite pieces from their collection. Radek Slabyhoud chose a Madonna from 2024 for his original portrait.
