(Zagreb, Croatia, 1945 - )
1995
Acrylic on canvas
47 1/2 x 47 1/2 in. (120.7 x 120.7 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Jack Jeter
2016.9
Mark Spalatin paints hard-edged geometric shapes that appear to float in space, modeling their forms through light and shade. The artist finds inspiration in the luminous atmospheres of seaside locales, including Yucantan, the coastal Mexican state he vists during the winter, in addition to memories of his childhood spent growing up alongside the Adriatic Sea. Spalatin's early work featured centralized dimensional forms, but in the late 1980s, he began flattening his compositions. He creates shallow spaces with patterns covering most of an image area. In 'Sequinar,' the artist arranges brilliantly colored triangles, diamonds, and squares that appear to float above a gray-toned background of stripes.