Mladen Stilinović is one of the most important and internationally renowned Croatian postconceptual artists. His artistic career began in the early 1970s; his artistic beginnings are associated with experimental film and poetry. As a member of the Grupa šestorice autora (The Group of Six Authors), he is the founder of the so-called new artistic practice of the 1970s. The group preferred presentations at public open spaces, which is a critique of the gallery system, and is vital in introducing actionism and urban interventionism in local arts. Continuing the tradition of the avant-garde art, Stilinović advocates for the social dimension of art and art as a social critique, with uncovered cynicism as a specific form of self-distance. He explores the relationships between the language of art and the language of ideology. In his works he criticizes the institutional and international hierarchy of art, the social role of money and work, and explores the position of artists and art in society. Common themes of his work are language, poverty, power, death, and repression. Besides his artwork, Stilinović is also one of the co-founders of the first art collective and exhibition space managed by artists – Radna zajednica umjetnika Podroom ("Podroom" - The Working Community of Artists) (1978-1980). He was the co-founder and the director of the Galerija proširenih medija (The Extended Media Gallery) from 1981 until 1991.