Jan Rous is a Czech art historian and curator who specializes in illustration, graphic design and children's books. He has been applying his research both in the preparation of monographic studies and essays, as well as during the conception of larger exhibition projects.
Rous studied art history at the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University (1962-1967). During his formative period, Miroslav Míček and Jiří Padrta, who influenced the emerging generation especially in the field of art critique, played an important role for him. After graduating, he worked in the philosophical editorial office of the publishing house of the Union of Czechoslovak Visual Artists, Obelisk, where he supervised the publication of texts by authors such as Jean-Paul Sartre (Aesthetics and the Imaginary), Gaston Bachelard (The Flame of the Candle, 1970) and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (The Eye and the Spirit and Other Essays, 1971). After his forced departure, he joined the Museum of Decorative Arts in 1972, where he was employed first as a manual worker and later as the conservator of the graphic collection and curator. Over time, he began to profile himself as an expert on the 19th and 20th century book culture - one of the leading areas of his professional interest became the graphic production of the Czech avant-garde (he was one of the first to critically examine the work of Karel Teige, Libor Fára, Ladislav Sutnar and František Muzika). In addition to his official activities, he was actively involved in the work of contemporary artists during the period of normalisation and also participated in the dissemination of Samizdat materials and publications.
He collaborated on a number of exhibition and research projects at the Museum of Decorative Arts. His first major undertaking was the exhibition Czech Functionalism 1920-1940 (1978), which presented not only architectural but also applied production of Czech interwar art that had been minimally processed until then. Together with František Šmejkal and Rostislav Švácha, they curated the exhibition Devětsil - Czech Art Avant-Garde of the 1920s (1986), which provided a pilot, retrospective view of the group's theoretical foundations and creative ambitions in Prague's Old Town Hall. In the following years, he also curated several monographic exhibitions, including Ivan Ouhel: Time of the Image (House of Art in Ostrava, 1998), Karel Nepraš: Sitting, Standing, Walking (Queen Anne's Summer Palace, 2002) and Jiří Šalamoun: No tohle?! (Olomouc Museum of Art, 2015).
Since 2008, he has contributed significantly to the operation of the Topič Salon in Prague, for which he created the first ever exhibition plan (in collaboration with Pavel Vašíček). His basic programme concept was based on already established personalities of the domestic art scene (such as Hugo Demartini, Antonín Střížek, Čestmír Kafka, Ivan Ouhel), who were always presented in a specific thematic context. He also curated the exhibition Jiří Kolář: Space between Word and Image, which opened a new phase of the renewed gallery space. In its final composition, the exhibition presented a selection of collages and chiasmages, which were complemented by examples of Kolář's book work thematizing the author's transition from poetry to the visual sphere. In an attempt to continue the tradition of the original private exhibition hall, which was involuntarily interrupted, Rous concentrated here mainly on gathering works from private collections.
Jan Rous continued his cooperation with the Topič Salon Society; the following year he prepared monographic exhibitions of Otakar Slavík and Dagmar Hochová, and during the following years after that, he carried out projects such as Olga Karlíková: Space for Light and the Language of Nature (2010), Rudolf Volráb: Situation of the Figure (2010) or Daisy Mrázková: Since 2011, Rous has also been working as an expert at the Museum of Art and Design in Benešov, with which he established cooperation during the 1990s (assisting in the conception of the long-term exhibition series Personalities of Czech Graphic Design).
Jan Rous has also devoted himself to teaching. From 1990 to 2010, he worked as a lecturer, as well as the Head of the Department of Art Theory and History at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, where he was instrumental in shaping the new framework of theoretical teaching. In addition to preparing lectures and several small exhibitions for the school's gallery (Jan Hísek: Graphics, 1996; Václav Bláha: Book Graphics, 2009), he also devoted himself intensively to publishing and art critique (mainly in periodicals such as Lidové noviny, Literární noviny, Ateliér, A2, etc.).
1962 - 1967 art history, Philosophical Faculty, Charles University, Prague
1990 - 2010 pedagogue at Academy of Art, Architecture and Design (VŠUP), Prague (lecturing on art history, history of book culture and history and theory of graphic design)
1972 - 1990 member of the installation group and curator at the Museum of Applied Art, Prague
1962 - 1972 editor, the Obelisk publishing house
member of the AICA international association and member of the Museum of Applied Arts board, Prague
2019
Libor Krejcar: Strážci paměti, Galerie U prstenu, Praha
Alžběta Skálová: Chůze v šeru, Galerie Villa Pellé, Praha 2018
Daisy Mrázková: Co by se stalo, kdyby…, Galerie Villa Pellé, Praha 2016
Divoké narozeniny Maxipsa Fíka aneb Jiří Šalamoun dětem, Galerie Villa Pellé, Praha 2015
Jiří Šalamoun: No tohle?!, Muzeum umění Olomouc 2012
Dana Vachtová, Galerie Pokorná, Praha 2011
Daisy Mrázková: Voda a čára, Topičův salon, Praha 2010
Rudolf Volráb: Situace figury, Topičův salon, Praha
Olga Karlíková: Svišťouni, žáby a skřivani, Komunikační prostor Školská 28, Praha
Olga Karlíková: Prostor pro světlo a řeč přírody, Topičův salon, Praha
Jiří Šalamoun: Pidluke-Padluke, Galerie Františka Drtikola, Příbram 2009
Antonín Střížek: Obrazy a kresby, Topičův salon, Praha
Dagmar Hochová: Fotografie - Paměť všedního, Topičův salon, Praha
Václav Bláha: Knižní grafika, Galerie VŠUP, Praha
Otakar Slavík: Návraty, Topičův salon, Praha 2008
Čestmír Kafka: Krajiny možného konání, Topičův salon, Praha
Ivan Ouhel: Proměny krajiny / Konstrukce prostoru, Topičův salon, Praha
Karel Valter: Místo, krajina, obraz, Topičův salon, Praha
Jiří Kolář: Prostor mezi slovem a obrazem, Topičův salon, Praha 2006
1+2+8, Sklo, obrazy, objekty, instalace, Galerie Deset, Praha 2002
Karel Nepraš: Sedící, stojící, kráčející, Letohrádek královny Anny, Praha 1999
Příběhy Jiřího Koláře, Národní galerie - Veletržní palác, Praha
Jan Konůpek: Poutník k nekonečnu, Galerie hlavního města Prahy - Dům U Kamenného zvonu, Praha 1998
Moje mořské dobrodružství začíná…, Výstavní síň Mánes, Praha
Ivan Ouhel: Čas obrazu. Tvorba z devadesátých let, Dům umění, Ostrava
Ivan Ouhel: Kresby, Galerie Gemma, Praha
Ivan Ouhel: Čas obrazu, České muzeum výtvarných umění, Praha 1996
Jan Hísek: Grafika, Výstavní síň Emila Filly, Ústí nad Labem
Jan Hísek: Grafika, Výstavní síň VŠUP, Praha 1992
Book Design in Prague 1960—1990, Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, New York 1987
Josef Kaplický: Knižní grafika a kresby, Uměleckoprůmyslové museum - Státní zámek Kozel, Plzeň 1986
Devětsil - česká výtvarná avantgarda dvacátých let, Uměleckoprůmyslové museum - Staroměstská radnice, Praha 1985
Josef Šíma: Knižní grafika a kresby, Uměleckoprůmyslové museum - Státní zámek Kozel, Plzeň 1978
Český funkcionalismus 1920—1940, Uměleckoprůmyslové museum, Praha 1969
Sochařské kresby z počátku 20. století, Galerie bratří Čapků, Praha
2010 Rudolf Volráb, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2010 Olga Karlíková, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2009 Otakar Slavík, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2009 Dagmar Hochová, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2009 Antonín Střížek, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2008 Karel Valter, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2008 Jiří Kolář, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2008 Ivan Ouhel, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2008 Čestmír Kafka, výstava a katalog, Topičův salon, Praha
2007 Alena Matějková, Mytologie skla, text katalogu, Praha
2006 Josef Flejšar, výstava a katalog, Benešov
2006 1+2+8 Kopeckého škola, výstava a katalog, Praha
2004 Jiří Šalamoun, výstava a katalog, Benešov
2003 Design jako médium životního stylu, in: Ladislav Sunar-Praha-New York, Praha
2002 Zdeněk Ziegler, výstava a katalog, Benešov
2002 Milan Grygar, výstava a katalog, Benešov
2001 Kniha jest chrámem, in: František Bílek, GHMP
2000 Příběhy Jiřího Koláře, text o ilustraci, NG v Praze
1999 Grafický design jako dramaturgický projekt, in: Libor Fára, Gema, Praha
1998 Sen jeden svítí, in: Jan Konůpek, GHMP
1998 Ivan Ouhel, kat. ČMVU v Praze
1998 Ars longa vita brevis, Gema Art
1990 Orbis pictus neboli svět v obrazích, UPM v Praze
1990 Democrazia anno uno, (český politický plakát), Brescia
1988 Ilustrace Máchova Máje, UPM v Praze
1988 František Muzika, UPM v Praze
1987 Josef Kaplický, UPM v Praze
1986 Devětsil a nová typografie, in: Devětsil, UPM v Praze
1985 Josef Šíma, UPM v Praze
1979 Krása a význam české knihy, UPM v Praze
1978 Český funkcionalismus, užitá grafika, UPM Praha
- Rous, Jan: Deník všelikého těla (Eva Kmentová), A2 kulturní týdeník, 50/ 2006
- Rous, Jan: Jest mi ten svět jen rakví protivnou (recenze výstavy V barvách chorobných), A2 kulturní týdeník, 4/ 2007
- Rous, Jan: Zrak v prstech (L. Zívr), A2 kulturní týdeník, 27/ 2007
- Rous, Jan: Mluvící pásmo (Z. Rykr, M. Součková), A2 kulturní týdeník, 40/ 2007
- Rous, Jan: Živnost versus umění (F. Drtikol), A2 kulturní týdeník, 42/ 2007
- Rous, Jan: Druhý život v Česku (V. Zapletalová), A2 kulturní týdeník 45/ 2007
- Vacková-Hubatová, Lada: Chytit svou tvorbu jinými nástroji (rozhovor s J. Rousem), A2 kulturní týdeník, 30/ 2008, s. 14-15