Vlado Martek: “I Am One Hundred Percent in Ten Percent of Art”
“I am a ten percent artist, a ten percent neighbour, a ten percent father, a ten percent husband, a ten percent patriot, a ten percent friend… I divided one hundred percent into ten percent for each area. This gives me the freedom to be one hundred percent in the ten percent of art,” stated the Croatian conceptual artist Vlado Martek in the programme Osmi dan on Slovenian National Television, who is currently presenting himself with a retrospective exhibition at the City Art Gallery Ljubljana.
The installation alludes to Martek’s studio itself constituting an all-embracing art form, Gesamtkunstwerk, with each and every piece – the wall, the desk, the chair, the closet, the oven, the bathroom, the radiator, the door – also serving as a basis for presenting art or a work of art. Opening and browsing through numerous folders, boxes, bags, wrappings, glasses and a wide array of inconceivable carriers, as well as every new dialogue with the artist bring new insight into his multi-faceted artistic expression.