John Fekner

Description

John Fekner is one of the defining pioneers of American street art and conceptual art. Since the 1970s, he has been intervening in urban spaces with text-based works, stencils and photographic documentation, drawing attention at an early stage to issues such as environmental destruction, industrial transformation and social divisions. His precise language and deliberate placement in public spaces have influenced generations of artists and played a decisive role in shaping the development of urban art. As part of the 2026 Urban Art Biennale, Fekner’s The Children’s Playground will be presented in a small, previously inaccessible space near the coaltower. The installation condenses central motifs from his long-standing body of work into a multi-layered, walk-through installation. Outside, the question ‘SAFE?’ is prominently displayed – a typical Fekner device that casts doubt on the space’s promise of safety. Inside, further text-based works such as Sunset Blvd. and !!WallStruck!! can be found, which function as markers of a fragmented narrative: references to history, memory and urban conditions caught between decay and projection. With his work The Last Supper, Fekner expands his visual language. Bamboo plates, bearing reddish-brown traces of food, inevitably evoke associations with consumption, ritual and violence – a world to which children in particular are often defencelessly exposed. The juxtaposition of seemingly everyday materials and unsettling visual cues opens up spaces for interpretation that are directly linked to current global conflicts.