On the Poetic Agitations of Vlado Martek

Vlado Martek’s New Intervention in Škofja Loka: “Read Srečko Kosovel”, 2025

Vlado Martek (1951, Zagreb), a Croatian conceptual artist, has been developing recognisable poetic agitations since the 1970s – simple A4 sheets of paper with screen-printed, clearly legible calls for people to read the works of poets, writers and artists, which he places in public spaces, often illegally or anonymously.

By means of these interventions, Martek transfers poetry and art from books and galleries to the streets, confronting passersby with unexpected messages that interrupt the flow of everyday consumerism and encouraging them to read and reflect. Some selected early agitations are currently presented as part of the exhibition For the Democratisation of Art – Revisited.

On the opening day of the exhibition in Škofja Loka, Martek carried out a new intervention titled READ SREČKO KOSOVEL. On the eve of the upcoming Kosovel Year 2026 – which marks 100 years since the death of Srečko Kosovel, one of Slovenia’s foremost poets – and in collaboration with the local inhabitants, the artist used this gesture to indicate the need to return to the great avant-garde artists, whose work expanded the boundaries of poetry, language and culture and, among other things, loudly advocated for the democratisation of art.

We would like to thank the inhabitants of Škofja Loka who participated in the creation of Martek’s work.