Mark Divo:
Dada Lives On

Some artists create objects. Others create movements. Swiss artist Mark Divo belongs firmly to the latter, blurring the boundaries between art, performance and cultural activism.

In 2025, Divo was featured in the Kunsthaus Zürich’s DADA-Kabinett exhibition series as part of Fokus 100 Jahre Surrealismus, a programme celebrating one hundred years of Surrealism while examining the continuing influence of Dada on contemporary art.

His paintings and publication were presented in dialogue with works from the museum’s renowned Dada collection, highlighting his role as one of Zürich’s most distinctive contemporary voices.

For many in Zürich, Mark Divo’s name is inseparable from the revival of Cabaret Voltaire in the early 2000s. What began as an artistic occupation evolved into a cultural movement that restored international attention to the birthplace of Dada.

His inclusion acknowledged this legacy by placing his work in conversation with the historical Dada collection.

Divo’s practice merges painting, installation, performance and public intervention into a body of work driven by spontaneity and artistic independence.

For COLLECT, Mark Divo represents an artist who has shaped not only visual culture but also Zürich’s cultural identity.