Research Archive

Under the Microscope (series) 1970
Colorered Ink on Canvas
36 x 36 inches Read the rest of this entry »

John Fekner & John Crash Matos

John Crash Matos, a graffiti artist, and I collaborated on a project entitled THE SUFFOLK STREET FALLOUT SHELTER. The mural, painted on an abandoned building on the Lower East Side, depicts a nuclear bomb exploding in the New York City. A stenciled warning in English and Spanish reads: IN CASE OF NUCLEAR WAR STEP INSIDE/EN CASO DE GUERRA NULCEAR ENTREN. Read the rest of this entry »

The purpose of the Demolition Leftovers project was to bring attention to ninety abandoned construction fence poles that circled the United States Pavilion demolition site. Although the site was seeded and new grass was growing, rusted demolition poles were hazardous and remained standing for months after the work crew left the area. I painted the poles bright fluorescent orange, not only as an attempt to draw attention to their existence, but functioned as a temporary artwork to visitors to the park. Eventually, after writing a few letters, the poles were completed removed from the site, bringing the park back to its natural state of existence. Read the rest of this entry »

Fekner visits Fashion Moda in 1979 which leads to his installation of NO TV/READ which is simultaneously shown at P. S. 1 and Galerie S:t Petri -Archive of Experimental and Marginal Art in Lund, Sweden. In the window of Fashion Moda, Fekner creates an installation with a TV set, a stenciled logo and a statement in both English and Spanish in February 1980. Read the rest of this entry »

“As a painter, act as the eye of the community, for the community.”

“In the 70s, I made a conscious choice of changing the formal aesthetics I was taught in art school. No longer interested in working within the spatial restrictions of a white canvas, I embraced the outdoors, reducing the value of an art object to that of a shared visual experience for the general public. At the same time, the formal ‘blankness’ of a typical gallery, devoid of any distinctive character, no longer held interest for me.”

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In the summer of 1985 without a studio to work in, John Fekner turned a Sunday painter using his car as a traveling studio and setup shop at a few of his favorite locations alongside a highway in Queens and a parkway in the Bronx. Fekner said it was the best place to work outside without being disturbed; no phone calls, only the birds and the whizzing of cars and trucks. A favorite spot was under the Long Island Expressway at the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway exit where he previously spray painted Trees, Toxic, and RUA Vidiot?

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Fekner’s stencil Wheels Over Indian Trails greeted motorists and international travelers arriving in New York City at the Pulaski Bridge Queens Midtown Tunnel from 1979-1990. The message remained untouched for eleven years, until Earth Day 1990, when Mr. Fekner, feeling the piece had run its course, painted over it.

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This is John Fekner’s second record album. His first was produced two years ago by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Fekner is a visual artist as well as a musician. He is clearly associated with the East Village “Post-Graffiti” group. His word/images were shown at the Civilian Warfare Gallery in May 1984. IDIOBLAST is distributed by EXIT Art in New York. Read the rest of this entry »

By John Fekner & Don Leicht

Summer/Fall 2009
John Fekner & Don Leicht
“This is Art” Galleri Jonas Kleerup and various locations in Stockholm, Sweden 2009 Read the rest of this entry »