Jan Vičar is a solitary personality of the Czech visual arts and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prize for Free Graphic Art from the French Academy (Institut de France, Académie des Beaux-Arts), the National Prize of Italy (1st Prize Premio Leonardo Sciascia Milano) and the Vladimír Boudník Prize. In the Centre of Contemporary Art EPO1 he presents his largest exhibition realized in the Czech Republic so far.

The artist’s approach to his work is purely organic and experimental. He uses graphic techniques, especially woodcut, linocut and woodblock printmaking, which draw on classical principles. A large-format press he built himself allows him to print monumental works, thus exceeding the usual technical limits of traditional printmaking. 

His work is known for its dark atmospheres and narrative structures. Individual works often blend reality with the surreal world, creating an ambiguous and specific atmosphere, leaving viewers in a state of some tension and uncertainty. Vičar’s woodcuts and linocuts, break the classical boundaries between the printed form and the final impression. This conscious shift makes the matrix itself the final work of art, underlining its unorthodox position in the field of contemporary printmaking.

Through his prints, full of strong emotions and stories, he brings refuge and creates works that are both enigmatic and emotionally compelling.