[English below]
139 Letters to Noa Marlo multimedijalni je rad Karla Štefaneka koji isprepliće epistolarnu formu, performativni čin i elemente autofikcije ne bi li izgradio narativ odnosa koji izmiče. Nastao tijekom umjetnikova boravka u New Yorku, projekt proizlazi iz iznenadnog prekida zajedničkog života s Noom Marlom. Umjesto komunikacije, pisma funkcioniraju kao svojevrsni ritual – neadresirana, neproslijeđena, ali svakodnevno upisana u tijelo kroz čin autoportretiranja u američkom vrtu. Riječ je o dnevničkoj formi koja svjesno odbija narativnu linearnost ili katarzični kraj. Štefanek bilježi promjene u okolišu kao produžetke unutarnjih distorzija, dok tekstualna komponenta rada ostaje osjetljivo nepouzdana – emocionalno precizna, ali strukturno otvorena. U tom među-prostoru 139 pisama postaju arhiva odnosa, čekanja, ljubavi te govora koji ne traži odgovor.
U sklopu Queer Zagreba, rad se predstavlja kroz čitanje pisama u izvedbi samog umjetnika, ali i kroz video radove umjetnika koje je Štefanek pozvao da svojim interpretacijama prošire i preuzmu njegov glas. Program uključuje i razgovor s povjesničarom umjetnosti Leopoldom Rupnikom, čime se otvara prostor za kontekstualizaciju rada unutar šireg okvira queer poetika i autofikcije.
Autor: Karlo Štefanek
Moderator: Leopold Rupnik
Video umjetnici: Ines Borovac, Valerija Cerovec, Vlasta Delimar, Brendan Elefante, Stefa Govaart, Rob Hesp, Jens Huls, Jana Jacuka, Nicholas Sanchez, Vlatka Horvat, Maja Simišić, Tyron Winter & drugi…
O umjetniku:
Karlo Štefanek multidisciplinarni je umjetnik čija praksa istražuje kako se identitet konstruira, dekonstruira i rekonstruira kroz medije autoportreta i performansa. Sa osamnaest godina, Štefanek se seli u Amsterdam gdje počinje postavljati temelje za svoju umjetničku metodologiju. Serijal pod nazivom Self-titled, koja objedinjuje vizualne i izvedbene elemente, postala je temelj njegove prakse, izazivajući promišljanja o konceptima osobnog identiteta i percepcije. Štefanek je izlagao na međunarodnoj razini, uključujući Venecijanski bijenale, te na festivalima poput Becoming (Amsterdam), Perforacijama (Zagreb) i SerformanceP (São Paulo), kao i u institucijama poput Stedelijk muzeja (Amsterdam) i Muzeja suvremene umjetnosti (Zagreb). Štefanekove samostalne izložbe planirane su ove godine u Hrvatskom društvu likovnih umjetnika (HDLU) u Osijeku, ARL-u u Dubrovniku, KIC-u u Zagrebu, i Vagon Galeriji u Banjoj Luci, a također će sudjelovati na 60. Zagrebačkom salonu. Umjetnik živi i radi na relaciji Zagreb, Amsterdam i New York.
O moderatoru:
Leopold Rupnik diplomirao je povijest umjetnosti i germanistiku na Filozofskom fakultetu u Zagrebu. Tijekom studija osvaja dvije Rektorove nagrade – najprije za izložbu Deutsch-römisches Brevier: 500 godina – 400 primjeraka – 1 obljetnica (2019.) pa zatim za urednički rad na Web-portalu posvećenom vizualnoj umjetnosti i kulturi Kulturflux (2020.). Završava obrazovni program Ženskih studija pri Centru za ženske studije 2016. te se dalje obrazuje na kolegijima u Centru za kustoske studije Node u Berlinu (2023.), Institutu za postnaturalne studije u Madridu (2023.) te na Umjetničkoj akademiji u Zürichu (2024.). U galeriji LEXART radi od 2023. kao kustoski asistent na izložbenom programu, a stalni je novinarski suradnik portala Vizkultura od 2022. godine. Autorske je tekstove objavio i na portalima Kulturpunkt, Suvremena hrvatska fotografija, Vox Feminae i Krilo, u nekoliko časopisa poput Treće (Centar za ženske studije, Zagreb) i Narodne umjetnosti (Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb), te u zbornicima među kojima se ističe zbornik Ekofeminizam – između zelenih i ženskih studija (Durieux, 2020.) i Mačkozbornik: od Bastet do Catwoman (Jesenski i Turk, 2022.). Član je Hrvatske sekcije AICA-e i Studijske sekcije ULUPUH-a od 2025. Godine.
[English]
139 Letters to Noa Marlo is a multimedia work by Karlo Štefanek that intertwines the epistolary form, performative act, and autofiction elements to construct a narrative of a relationship slipping away. Created during the artist’s residency in New York, the project stems from the sudden breakup of shared life with Noa Marlo. In place of communication, the letters function as a kind of ritual — unaddressed, unsent, but inscribed daily onto the body through the act of self-portraiture in an American garden. This is a diaristic form that consciously rejects narrative linearity or a cathartic conclusion. Štefanek records changes in the environment as extensions of internal distortions, while the textual component of the work remains delicately unreliable — emotionally precise, yet
structurally open. It is in this in-between space that 139 letters become an archive of relationship, waiting, love, and a language that does not seek a reply.
As part of Queer Zagreb, the work is presented through a live reading of the letters performed by the artist himself, as well as through video works by invited artists who expand and inhabit Štefanek’s voice through their own interpretations. The program also includes a conversation with art historian Leopold Rupnik, offering a space to contextualize the work within broader frameworks of queer poetics and autofiction.
Author: Karlo Štefanek
Moderator: Leopold Rupnik
Video Artists: Ines Borovac, Valerija Cerovec, Vlasta Delimar, Brendan Elefante, Stefa Govaart, Rob Hesp, Jens Huls, Jana Jacuka, Nicholas Sanchez, Vlatka Horvat, Maja Simišić, Tyron Winter & more…
About the Artist:
Karlo Štefanek is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores how identity is constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed through the mediums of self-portraiture and performance. At the age of eighteen, Štefanek moves to Amsterdam, where he began laying the foundations for his artistic methodology. His series Self-titled, which merges visual and performative elements, has become the cornerstone of his practice, provoking reflections on concepts of personal identity and perception. Štefanek has exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, and at festivals such as Becoming (Amsterdam), Perforations (Zagreb), and SerformanceP (São Paulo), as well as in institutions like the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Zagreb). His solo exhibitions are scheduled this year at the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) in Osijek, ARL in Dubrovnik, KIC in Zagreb, and Vagon Gallery in Banja Luka. He will also take part in the 60th Zagreb Salon. The artist lives and works between Zagreb, Amsterdam, and New York.
About the Moderator:
Leopold Rupnik holds degrees in art history and German studies from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. During his studies, he was awarded two Rector’s Awards – first for the exhibition Deutsch-römisches Brevier: 500 Years – 400 Copies – 1 Anniversary (2019), and then for his editorial work on Kulturflux, a web portal dedicated to visual art and culture (2020). In 2016, he completed the educational program in Women’s Studies at the Center for Women’s Studies, and continued his education through courses at the Node Center for Curatorial Studies in Berlin (2023), the Institute for Postnatural Studies in Madrid (2023), and the Zurich University of the Arts (2024). Since 2023, he has worked at the LEXART Gallery as a curatorial assistant in the exhibition program, and has been a regular contributor to the Vizkultura portal since 2022. His authored texts have also been published on platforms such as Kulturpunkt, Contemporary Croatian Photography, Vox Feminae, and Krilo, as well as in journals like Treća (Center for Women’s Studies, Zagreb) and Narodna umjetnost (Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb). His work has also appeared in edited volumes, including Ecofeminism – Between Green and Women’s Studies (Durieux, 2020) and Mačkozbornik: From Bastet to Catwoman (Jesenski i Turk, 2022). He has been a member of the Croatian section of AICA and the ULUPUH Study Section since 2025.
