MARKO SPALATIN

Marko Spalatin was born in Zagreb, Croatia and immigrated to the US in the early 60's. He earned BS and MFA degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and has been exhibiting his artwork for over 40 years across the US, as well as in France, Croatia, Canada, Lebanon, Italy, and Slovenia. Spalatin’s work is represented in many private, corporate, and public collections, nationally and internationally, including the MoMa New York, Cleveland Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tate Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK and Musée d’Art Moderne and Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, France. His work reis a continuous involvement with abstract geometric forms defined by careful manipulation of color and light.

STATEMENT

"My work represents a continuous involvement with abstract geometric forms defined by careful manipulation of color and light. The relationship between form and color within the pictorial field demands a visually symbiotic presence. The challenge revolves around the selection of a form as a vehicle for color, as well as choosing appropriate color and light for that form. This interplay creates a primary spatial illusion, along with secondary effects. I find that precisely defined areas of color, when placed against each other, compete for dominance. This activity, when further accentuated by tonal structure, produces multiple levels of perception. A given area of uniformly applied pigment loses its flat character through simultaneous contrast with the surrounding colors. In many cases, the positive and negative spaces within the field become interchangeable. In more complex paintings, when the substructure is a series of repetitive modules, the color-light interplay reveals its polyphonic character.

In general, my compositions remain formal and symmetrical in order to be set in motion by unexpected mutations of color and light. In some cases, the careful placement of small areas of saturated color against a backdrop of transitional grays creates an illusion of suspended particles. There is no doubt that in these images in particular, my sense of color and light is subconsciously influenced and sustained by many years of scuba diving in the waters of the Adriatic Sea and the Caribbean. I am intrigued by the relativity of color and by the mystery of light, and I am constantly challenged to explore their potentials. Every painting becomes a self-imposed visual problem, subjectively resolved in search of an objective truth."

RESUME

Permanent Collections

Musée d'Art Moderne — Paris, France

Museum of Modern Art — New York, New York

Tate Gallery — London, England

Bibliothèque National — Paris, France

Victoria & Albert Museum — London, England

Library of Congress — Washington, D.C.

Museum of Contemporary Art — Chicago, Illinois

Metropolitan Museum — Manila, Philippines

Philadelphia Museum of Art — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Butler Institute of American Art — Youngstown, Ohio

Museum of Modern Art — Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Milwaukee Art Museum — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Brooklyn Museum — Brooklyn, New York

Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cleveland Museum of Art — Cleveland, Ohio

Elvehjem Museum of Art — Madison, Wisconsin

Akron Art Institute — Akron, Ohio

Museum of Modern Art — Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

Madison Art Center — Madison, Wisconsin

New York Public Library — New York, New York

Oklahoma Art Center — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Masur Museum of Art — Monroe, Louisiana

National Arts Club — New York, New York

Albrecht Museum — St. Joseph, Missouri

Billings Art Center — Billings, Montana

National & University Library — Zagreb, Croatia

Rochester Museum of Art — Rochester, New York

Museum of Modern Art — Ljubljana, Slovenia

Solo Exhibitions

1970     Akron Art Institute — Akron, Ohio

1970     Fairweather Hardin Gallery — Chicago, Illinois

1970     Jane Haslem Gallery — Madison, Wisconsin

1971     Madison Art Center — Madison, Wisconsin

1971     Suzanne Kohn Gallery — St. Paul, Minnesota

1971     University of Iowa — Iowa City, Iowa

1971     Galerie Lahumière — Paris, France

1972     Fairweather Hardin Gallery — Chicago, Illinois

1972     Landry-Bonino Gallery — New York, New York

1972     S.C. Gallery — Zagreb, Croatia

1972     Gallery IlI — Montreal, Québec

1972     Daedalus I — Detroit, Michigan

1973     Mathis Gallery — Racine, Wisconsin

1973     Galerie Lahumière — Paris, France

1973     Galerie Regards — Paris, France

1973     University of Wisconsin — Madison, Wisconsin

1974     Galeria Bonino — New York, New York

1974     Habatat Gallery — Dearborn, Michigan

1975     Albrecht Museum — St. Joseph, Missouri

1975     Osprey Gallery — Rochester, New York

1975     Gallery "6" — Wichita, Kansas

1975     National Arts Club — New York, New York

1975     Devorzan Gallery — Los Angeles, California

1975     Fairweather Hardin Gallery — Chicago, Illinois

1975     Studio One — Beirut, Lebanon

1976     Heritage Gallery — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1976     Janus Gallery — Washington, D.C.

1976     Thomas Word Gallery — Edina, Minnesota

1976     The Gallery — Tampa, Florida

1976     Creative Gallery — Seattle, Washington

1976     G. McCleaf Gallery — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1976     Editions — Houston, Texas

1977     Madison Art Center — Madison, Wisconsin

1977     Fanny Garver Gallery — Madison, Wisconsin

1978     Source Gallery — San Francisco, California

1978     Dee Erlien Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1980     Gilman Galleries — Chicago, lllinois

1981     Posner Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1981     Seuferer Chosy Gallery — Madison, Wisconsin

1983     Gallery 200 — Columbus, Ohio

1984     Galeria La Feluca — Rome, Italy

1984     Posner Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1984     Galeria Labirint — Ljubljana, Slovenia

1985     Swearingen Gallery — Louisville, Kentucky

1985     Gallery 200 — Columbus, Ohio

1985     Horace Williams House — Chapel Hill, North Carolina

1985     Jane Haslem Gallery — Washington, D.C.

1986     Rodin Gallery — St. Louis, Missouri

1987     Reece Gallery — New York, New York

1987     Grace Chosy Gallery — Madison, Wisconsin

1988     Posner Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1988     Horace Williams House — Chapel Hill, North Carolina

1989     National & University Library — Zagreb, Croatia

1989     Denis Conley Gallery — Akron, Ohio

1990     Syd Entel Gallery — Tampa, Florida

1990     Cumberland Gallery — Nashville, Tennessee

1991     Mangel Gallery — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1992     Denis Conley Gallery — Akron, Ohlo

1994     Editions Limited Gallery — lndianapolis, Indiana

1995     The Butler Institute of American Art — Youngstown, Ohio

1997     DeLind Fine Art Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1999     Uzelac Gallery — Pontiac, Michigan

1999     DeLind Fine Art Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2000     Denis Conley Gallery — Akron, Ohio

2000     Metropolitan Art — Dodgeville, Wisconsin

2001     Atelier Gallery — Madison, New Jersey

2002     DeLind Fine Art Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2003     Croatian Academy of Art — Zagreb, Croatia

2004     Denis Conley Gallery — Akron, Ohio

2004     Fairfield Art Museum — Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

2004     Reece Galleries — New York, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions

1967     "9th Annual National Exhibition of Prints and Drawings" — Oklahoma Art Center — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (also 1968)

1968     "American Graphic Workshops Exhibition" — Cincinnati Art Museum — Cincinnati, Ohio

1968     "34th Wisconsin Salon of Art" — University of Wisconsin — Madison, Wisconsin (also 1969, 1971)

1969     "The Local Scene" — Deson-Zaks Gallery — Chicago, Illinois

1969     Jane Haslem Gallery — Washington, D.C.

1969     "American Prints — World War lI to the Present" — The Brooklyn Museum — Brooklyn, New York

1969     Madison Art Center — Madison, Wisconsin

1969     Lincoln Memorial Art Center — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1969     "Northwest Printmakers 40th International Exhibition" — Seattle Art Museum — Seattle, Washington (also 1970)

1970     World's Fair — Osaka, Japan

1970     "Seven Wisconsin Printmakers" — Suzanne Kohn Gallery — Minneapolis, Minnesota

1970     "American Prints Today" — Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute — Utica, New York

1970     "17th National Print Exhibition" — The Brooklyn Museum — Brooklyn, New York

1970     "New Talent in Printmaking" — Associated American Artists Gallery — New York, New York

1970     Phoenix Gallery — Berkeley, California

1970     "National Print and Drawing Exhibition" — Western Illinois University — Macomb, Illinois

1970     "8th National Print Show" — Silvermine Guild of Artists — New Canaan, Connecticut

1970     "6th National Print and Drawing Competition" — Dulin Gallery of Art — Knoxville, Tennessee (also 1971)

1970     "2nd Annual National Print Exhibition" — San Diego State College — San Diego, California (also 1971)

1971     Habatat Gallery — Dearborn, Michigan

1971     Galeria Bonino — New York, New York (also 1973)

1971     "22nd National Exhibition of Prints" — Library of Congress — Washington, D.C.

1971     "1st Hawaii National Print Exhibition" — Honolulu Academy of Arts — Honolulu, Hawaii

1971     "1st Annual National Print Exhibition" — Georgia State University Gallery — Atlanta, Georgia (also 1972)

1972     "Yugoslav Graphics 1965-72" — Museum of Modern Art — Belgrade, Yugoslavia

1972     Fanny Garver Gallery — Madison, Wisconsin

1972     "7th Annual Exhibition of Yugoslav Graphic Art" — Zagreb,Croatia(also 1976, 1982, 1986, 1988)

1972     "3rd International Print Biennale" — Paris, France

1972     "3rd British International Print Biennale" — Bradford City Art Gallery — Bradford, England (also 1974)

1972     Galerie — Paris, France (also 1973)

1973     "Printmakers Midwest Invitational" — Walker Art Center — Minneapolis, Minnesota

1974     Galeria Bonino — Caracas, Venezuela

1974     "1st International Biennale" — Segovia, Spain (also 1976)

1975     Milwaukee Art Center — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1975     "Exhibition and Symposium of Prints and Printmakers" — University of South Dakota Fine Arts Center — Vermilion, South Dakota

1976     Fanny Garver Gallery — Madison, Wisconsin

1976     Galerie Cimaise — Bourg en Bresse, France

1977     "12th International Graphic Biennale" — Museum of Modern Art — Ljubljana, Slovenia(also 1979, 1983)

1978     "Wisconsin Biennale" — Madison Art Center — Madison, Wisconsin (also 1980)

1978     "A Larger View" — Boulder Art Center — Boulder, Colorado

1978     "Three Abstract Painters" — Mary Bell Gallery — Chicago, Illinois

1980     Mary Bell Gallery — Chicago, Illinois (also 1981)

1981     Milwaukee Art Museum — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1982     Contemporary Limited Editions — Safety Harbor, Florida

1982     Gallery 200 — Columbus, Ohio (also 1986, 1992)

1984     Olympic Museum — Sarajevo, Bosnia

1985     Jane Haslem Gallery — Washington, D.C.

1987     "Wisconsin Directions" — Milwaukee Art Museum — Milwaukee, Wisconsin(also 1989)

1989     "World Biennale of Croatian Art" — Toronto, Canada

1989     Malton Gallery — Cincinnati, Ohio

1990     "20th Anniversary Exhibition" — Gallery 200 — Columbus, Ohio

1991     Basel International Art Fair — Basel, Switzerland

1992     Cumberland Gallery — Nashville, Tennessee

1992     Meissner Gallery — Hamburg, Germany

1994     DeLind Fine Art Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1994     "The Print Club of Cleveland: 1969-94" — Cleveland Museum of Art — Cleveland, Ohio

1994     "58th National Midyear Exhibition" — The Butler Institute of American Art — Youngstown, Ohio

1998     "150 Years of Wisconsin Printmaking" — Elvehjem Museum of Art — Madison, Wisconsin

1998     "Joe Wilfer: Acquisitions for the Permanent Collection" — Madison Art Center — Madison, Wisconsin

1999     "20th Anniversary Show" — Cumberland Gallery — Nashville, Tennessee

2000     "Small Packages" — Cumberland Gallery — Nashville, Tennessee

2000     "20th Anniversary Show" — Ben Mangel Gallery — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2001     "Progressive Printmakers: Wisconsin Artists and the Print Renaissance" — Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin

2002     "Small Packages" — Cumberland Gallery — Nashville, Tennessee

2003     Corbino Gallery — Sarasota, Florida

2004     Reece Galleries — New York, New York

2004     Habatat Gallery — Boca Raton, Florida

2004     Longstreth Goldberg Art Gallery — Naples, Florida

2004     Milward Farrell Fine Art — Madison, Wisconsin

2004     Editions Limited Gallery — Indianapolis, Indiana

2004     DeLind Fine Art Gallery — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Selected Bibliography

Terry Kirkman, "Master Serigrapher ln Montreal," Montreal Star, Montreal, Québec, March 16, 1972

Luce Vermette, "Marko Spalatin," Vie des Arts, Summer 1972

Bogdan Tirnanić, "New Vision in Graphic Art," Politika, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, August 6, 1972

Donna M. Stein, "Interview with Marko Spalatin" (exhibition catalog essay), Landry-Bonino Gallery, New York, New York, August 23, 1972

Josip Škunca, "Variations on Constructive Ideas," Vjesnik, Zagreb, Croatia, October 5, 1972

John Canaday, "Marko Spalatin," New York Times, October 7, 1972

Douglas Crimp, "Marko Spalatin," Art News, November 1972

James Auer, "Spalatin: Alchemist ln Acrylics," Milwaukee Journal, July 6, 1973

Philip Larson, "Printmakers: Midwest Invitational" (exhibition catalog introduction), Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 9, 1973

John Newhouse, "Marko Spalatin," Wisconsin State Journal, September 22, 1973

Rosemary Teres, "Spalatin Re‑creates the 'Ideal Form'," Times‑Union, Rochester, New York, June 7, 1975

William Zimmer, "Marko Spalatin," Arts Magazine, April 1976

Gertrude Struck, "Marko Spalatin," Madison Select, January 1977

Dave Wagner, "Spalatin Exhibit Dramatic Show of Artist's Progress," Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, January 14, 1977

Thomas Albright, "Marko Spalatin," San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California, May 24, 1978

Joseph Wilfer, "Marko Spalatin: Graphic Work 1968‑1978" (retrospective exhibition catalog introduction), Madison Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin, 1978

Karen Bornstein, "Marko Spalatin," New Art Examiner, Chicago, Illinois, December 1980

James Auer, "Spalatin Show Tingles with Energy," Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 24, 1981

Gayle Crum, "Nature's Forms," Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, October 9, 1981

Carmen Elsner, "Forms, Underwater Sights Influence Spalatin," Wisconsin State Journal, October 13, 1981

Warrington Colescott, "Wisconsin Prints and Printmakers," Wisconsin Academy Review, March 1983

Jacqueline Hall, "Dazzling Paintings Highlight Show," Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio, May 29, 1983

Brane Ković, "Spalatin's Nautical Forms" (exhibition catalog essay), Galeria Solkan, Nova Gorica, Slovenia, April 1984

Ervin Y. Rodin, series ed., "Marko Spalatin" (biographical text), Symmetry, István Hargittai, ed., Pergamon Press, Ltd., New York, 1986

Vladimir P. Goss, "Marko Spalatin" (exhibition essay), Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 1988

F. Ross, "Artist AppIies Contemporary Vision…," News of Orange County, HiIlsborough, North Carolina, June 1, 1988

Alexander K. Shiroka, "Horizons '89" (catalog essay), World Biennale of Croatian Art, Toronto/Vancouver/Calgary, Canada, October 1989

Ivan Švertasek, "Marko Spalatin" (retrospective exhibition essay), Nacionalna Biblioteka, Zagreb, Croatia, November 16, 1989

Edward J. Sozanski, "Adherent of Op Art Explores New Angles," Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1991

Dawna Camper, "Marko Spalatin's Dazzling Abstractions," Art Look, Indianapolis, lndiana, Spring 1994

Vladimir P. Goss, "Interview with Marko Spalatin," Hrvatski Obzor, Zagreb, Croatia, July 3, 1995

James Auer, "These Artists, Their Works Are Always in Motion," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 20, 1999

James Auer, "Artist Explores Niche in Series of New Paintings," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 22, 2002

Lilijana Domić and Vladimir P. Goss, "Marko Spalatin: Prints 1979-2001" (exhibition catalog essays), Croatian Academy of Art, Zagreb, Croatia, June 2003