Jan Poš (*1996)
is a multimedia artist based in Prague. He playfully intertwines the mythological undercurrents of Western society with contemporary technologies, which have become central vehicles of expression in his artistic practice. At the core of his work lies a reflection on experiences that escape human empirical and cognitive capacities, which he explores through the phenomenon of myth. Myth began to actively shape his practice during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and continues to serve as one of the key frameworks guiding his artistic activity. He perceives myth as something that resists measurement and quantification, engaging with reality through archetypal images and symbolic logics, thus actively moving away from a simple rational approach. This orientation proved fundamental to his work The Myth of Hyperreality (2025).
The symbiotic interplay between physical and virtual space and the deconstruction of their supposed boundaries is another key aspect of Poš’s practice. He does not perceive the physical and the virtual as binary (two separate) domains; rather, his work deliberately operates in moments of overlap, generating hybrid environments. His objects originate in the digital realm of 3D software, which he subsequently materializes in porcelain and other materials. The formal dimension of the resulting works plays a decisive role for him; accordingly, he often envelops the surfaces of his objects in steel coatings, as in the series Cyclopean Masonry (2024) and Fragments (2023). These not only reflect their surroundings while simultaneously absorbing them — thus blurring the line between the artwork and its environment — but also directly refer to virtual 3D modeling. In programs such as Blender, objects are by default hollow, defined primarily by contour, a kind of boundary. The silver aesthetic further amplifies the industrial, futuristic charge, lending the works the appearance of artifacts from a speculative future.
Speculation is closely tied to his distinctive approach to research, which stands in juxtaposition to strictly scientific modes of producing knowledge. His modus operandi consists in defining a speculative environment, which he then freezes in time and examines. The result is a kind of fictional research with which the viewer is confronted. The aesthetics of a laboratory (through variable constructions) then inscribes itself into the form of individual works, such as the series Unstable Objects (2023).
In his practice, Poš also focuses on cultivating and observing ongoing phenomena and processes. The installation Wind Gust (2021), which opened up the question of meteorological data, was a prime example in this context. It is precisely these cosmological themes and bodies that Poš analyses. Rather than commenting on current socio-political or cultural events, he responds to the timeless elements of human experience, whose perseverance in time stands in stark contrast to the rapid obsolescence of new technologies. The technological thread running through his work extends beyond 3D programs to include digital moving imagery (Cyclopean Masonry deconstructed, 2025) and artificial light (Coordinate, 2023; Cartesian Mesh, 2023, among others). Through artificial light, Poš frequently steps beyond the interior of the gallery into the urban, public sphere (Countdown, 2023; Collector, 2023).
by: Denisa Michalinová
Education:
2017–2021
Faculty of Art and Design, University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Time-based Media Studio
2021–2025:
Academy of Art, Prague, Sculpture Studio 2
Internships:
2024
Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, studio of the Professor Nicolai Carsten
2019
Kunstuniversität Linz, Time-based Media Studio
2021
Linz (Ars Electronica Festival)
Exhibitions:
2024
Signal Festival, Prague
vNITRO,
4 + 4 Days
in Motion
Prague KOMIKS (scenography
for warehouse parties)
since 2019
2023
Winner of “Light for Subway” competition:
Synapse (permanent light installation), Prague
Roxy NOD Gallery, Prague
Time Areas (solo exhibiton),
The Chemistry Gallery, Prague
Collector- Prague City Gallery,
Chateau Troja, Prague
2022
Multiverse Studio (Cofounder of multimedia project)
World
Climate Clock (temporary light installation),
Freedom Festival, Prague
Metronome
CoNámNedáDenMáNoc 2 (group show), Gabriel Loci, Prague
Art Prague Sculpture (group exhibition), Dům Radost, Prague
2021
CoNámNedáDenMáNoc (group show), Gabriel Loci, Prague
Crashtest 11 / Na Rozhraní 4 (group exhibition), MUD Benešov
Ars Electronica Festival, Linz
Signal Festival, Prague
Hedgehog in a Cage (permanent site specific installation)
FUCHS 2, Štvanice, Prague
2020
EFFUGIO (immersive theatre scenography and sound), Prague
French Institute 100 Years (temporary light installation
on the facade of the building), Prague
Parterre (author’s exhibition), House of Art, Ústí nad Labem
RE? (exhibition project), Invalidovna, Prague
2019
Rain, Data, Speed, Atrium gallery Žižkov, Prague
Kačina Castle, Museum Night (land art light installatio n), CZ
PHONON, (light interactive object for sonic ambient concert),
Ústí nad Labem
FLASH (permanent light object), Campus Hybernská, Prague
2018
FIK (Festival of Illustration and Comics), Hraničář, Ústí nad Labem
FUD 25 Years (video mapping), Faculty of Arts and Design,
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University Ústí nad Labem
ŠMAKULÁDA (organization of art and music event),
Ústí nad Labem
Monumental Topography, FUD 25 Years, Emil Filla Gallery,
Ústí nad Labem
SEJF (student multimedia festival), Most
VNITROBLOCK (light installation on exhibition by Tomáš Jetela),
Prague
John Cage: Radio Music – performance, Ústí nad Labem