36 pages Edited by Jani Pirnat, with Brad Downey Text(s) by Jani Pirnat and John Fekner Photographs by John Fekner Designed by Lo Studio design 29.7 x 21 cm Language: English, Italian Paperback Publisher: Spazio C21 First edition of 100 copies 2025
Published on the occasion of the Broken Promises exhibition (SpazioC21, July–September 2025, in collaboration with Match Gallery and MGML, Ljubljana), this fanzine pays tribute to one of the most influential yet understated figures of New York’s urban scene.
A pioneer of stencil art, John Fekner turned the crumbling walls of 1970s and 1980s New York into urgent calls for awareness. His iconic Warning Signs and stenciled “word-signs” confronted urban neglect, environmental pollution, media manipulation, and gentrification—issues that remain strikingly relevant today.
Featuring a selection from the John Fekner Archive alongside works preserved by collectors and enthusiasts, Broken Promises captures the enduring power of an artist who transformed the streets into a platform for resistance, poetry, and change.
This publication brings together a selection from the John Fekner Archive, alongside works held by collectors and enthusiasts, tracing over sixty years of artistic practice that spans painting, video art, poetry, performance, and digital experimentation. A visual anthology of rebellion and activism, Broken Promises highlights Fekner’s enduring relevance, placing him among contemporaries such as Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, and David Wojnarowicz.
Both a document and a tribute, the fanzine captures the sharp clarity of an artist who chose the street as his canvas, and words as his weapon.
