“Cube Figure VI” Marko Spalatin (b.1945), 1971 serigraph/screenprint 30×25, pencil-signed, titled & numbered 7/35.

$3,000.00

“Cube Figure VI” Marko Spalatin (b.1945), 1971 serigraph/screenprint 30×25, pencil-signed, titled & numbered 7/35.

A rare early 1971 serigraph by Croatian-American abstractionist Marko Spalatin, Cube Figure VI features stacked geometric cubes animated by fluid color bands. Precision screenprinting and a very small edition (7/35) place this work among the most desirable expressions of Spalatin’s formative cube vocabulary.

Artwork Description

What you’re looking at
Cube Figure VI presents a compact, vertically stacked configuration of three cubes set within a circular field. Unlike Spalatin’s later strictly planar color separations, this composition introduces organic, flowing color passages that wrap across the cube faces, softening the geometry while intensifying spatial ambiguity.

Style & period
Created in 1971, this work belongs to Spalatin’s early mature phase, when his cube-based investigations were evolving from structural studies into fully resolved perceptual systems. The circular ground contrasts with the angular forms, heightening the sense of containment and focus.

Medium & technique (serigraph/screenprint)
Printed via serigraphy using multiple precisely aligned screens, the image relies on flat yet subtly interacting color fields. Greens, ochres, and muted earth tones glide across cube planes, producing depth without traditional shading. The clean edges and even ink application demonstrate Spalatin’s command of the screenprint medium.

Signature & editioning
The print is pencil-signed by the artist (lower right), titled (lower left), and numbered 7/35 (lower center). The notably small edition size significantly increases its rarity and collector appeal.

Conceptual significance
In the Cube Figure series, Spalatin treats the cube as an autonomous “figure” rather than part of a repeating field. Here, the cube becomes both solid and mutable—its stability challenged by flowing color that destabilizes the reading of volume, surface, and depth. This work anticipates the more systematic modular explorations that would follow in the Module series.

Marko Spalatin (b. 1945)

Background & training
Marko Spalatin was born in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1945 and immigrated to the United States in 1963. He earned a B.S. in Art (1968) and an M.F.A. (1971) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his interest in geometry, color theory, and printmaking crystallized.

Where he practiced
Spalatin developed his career primarily in the United States, with strong ties to Wisconsin, while exhibiting extensively across Europe and North America. His practice bridges American hard-edge abstraction and European constructivist traditions.

Artistic influences & style
Rooted in constructivism, hard-edge abstraction, and perceptual color theory, Spalatin’s work examines how color relationships can destabilize fixed forms. Symmetry often serves as a point of control, allowing subtle chromatic shifts to animate otherwise stable geometries.

Importance of the Cube Figure series
The Cube Figure works are especially important as transitional pieces—more expressive than early structural studies, yet more focused than later modular fields. They reveal Spalatin’s move toward treating form as a vessel for color-driven perception rather than a static object.

Institutional & collector relevance
Works from this early 1970s period are well represented in museum and public collections worldwide. Collectors value Cube Figure prints for their rarity, conceptual clarity, and role in shaping Spalatin’s later, more widely known series.

Marko Spalatin (Croatian-American, b. 1945), Cube Figure VI, 1971. Serigraph/screenprint in colors on paper, 30 × 25 inches. Pencil signed, titled, and numbered 7/35. Early geometric abstraction with organic color modulation. Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery to Artfind Gallery, Washington DC.

Certificate of Value & Authentication

Artist: Marko Spalatin (b. 1945)
Title:Cube Figure VI
Year: 1971
Medium: Serigraph / screenprint in colors on paper
Dimensions: 30 × 25 inches
Edition: 7/35
Signatures/Marks: Pencil signed, titled, and numbered by the artist
Condition (visual): No visible condition issues noted from available images; in-person inspection recommended
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery (acquired in NYC, United States and Europe) → Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
Authentication: Fully consistent with Spalatin’s documented early 1970s serigraph practice
Price Range

Provenance Chain (Collector Format)

Marko Spalatin (artist) → Mitch Morse Gallery (publisher/agent; acquired in NYC, United States and Europe) → Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current owner).

“Cube Figure VI” Marko Spalatin (b.1945), 1971 serigraph/screenprint 30×25, pencil-signed, titled & numbered 7/35.

A rare early 1971 serigraph by Croatian-American abstractionist Marko Spalatin, Cube Figure VI features stacked geometric cubes animated by fluid color bands. Precision screenprinting and a very small edition (7/35) place this work among the most desirable expressions of Spalatin’s formative cube vocabulary.

Artwork Description

What you’re looking at
Cube Figure VI presents a compact, vertically stacked configuration of three cubes set within a circular field. Unlike Spalatin’s later strictly planar color separations, this composition introduces organic, flowing color passages that wrap across the cube faces, softening the geometry while intensifying spatial ambiguity.

Style & period
Created in 1971, this work belongs to Spalatin’s early mature phase, when his cube-based investigations were evolving from structural studies into fully resolved perceptual systems. The circular ground contrasts with the angular forms, heightening the sense of containment and focus.

Medium & technique (serigraph/screenprint)
Printed via serigraphy using multiple precisely aligned screens, the image relies on flat yet subtly interacting color fields. Greens, ochres, and muted earth tones glide across cube planes, producing depth without traditional shading. The clean edges and even ink application demonstrate Spalatin’s command of the screenprint medium.

Signature & editioning
The print is pencil-signed by the artist (lower right), titled (lower left), and numbered 7/35 (lower center). The notably small edition size significantly increases its rarity and collector appeal.

Conceptual significance
In the Cube Figure series, Spalatin treats the cube as an autonomous “figure” rather than part of a repeating field. Here, the cube becomes both solid and mutable—its stability challenged by flowing color that destabilizes the reading of volume, surface, and depth. This work anticipates the more systematic modular explorations that would follow in the Module series.

Marko Spalatin (b. 1945)

Background & training
Marko Spalatin was born in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1945 and immigrated to the United States in 1963. He earned a B.S. in Art (1968) and an M.F.A. (1971) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his interest in geometry, color theory, and printmaking crystallized.

Where he practiced
Spalatin developed his career primarily in the United States, with strong ties to Wisconsin, while exhibiting extensively across Europe and North America. His practice bridges American hard-edge abstraction and European constructivist traditions.

Artistic influences & style
Rooted in constructivism, hard-edge abstraction, and perceptual color theory, Spalatin’s work examines how color relationships can destabilize fixed forms. Symmetry often serves as a point of control, allowing subtle chromatic shifts to animate otherwise stable geometries.

Importance of the Cube Figure series
The Cube Figure works are especially important as transitional pieces—more expressive than early structural studies, yet more focused than later modular fields. They reveal Spalatin’s move toward treating form as a vessel for color-driven perception rather than a static object.

Institutional & collector relevance
Works from this early 1970s period are well represented in museum and public collections worldwide. Collectors value Cube Figure prints for their rarity, conceptual clarity, and role in shaping Spalatin’s later, more widely known series.

Marko Spalatin (Croatian-American, b. 1945), Cube Figure VI, 1971. Serigraph/screenprint in colors on paper, 30 × 25 inches. Pencil signed, titled, and numbered 7/35. Early geometric abstraction with organic color modulation. Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery to Artfind Gallery, Washington DC.

Certificate of Value & Authentication

Artist: Marko Spalatin (b. 1945)
Title:Cube Figure VI
Year: 1971
Medium: Serigraph / screenprint in colors on paper
Dimensions: 30 × 25 inches
Edition: 7/35
Signatures/Marks: Pencil signed, titled, and numbered by the artist
Condition (visual): No visible condition issues noted from available images; in-person inspection recommended
Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery (acquired in NYC, United States and Europe) → Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
Authentication: Fully consistent with Spalatin’s documented early 1970s serigraph practice
Price Range

Provenance Chain (Collector Format)

Marko Spalatin (artist) → Mitch Morse Gallery (publisher/agent; acquired in NYC, United States and Europe) → Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current owner).

“CUBE FIGURE VI”-

MARKO SPALATIN - Serigraph - Signed & Numbered - 7/35

Image 25-1/2 x 20 inches (including signature and narrow white margin), paper 30-1/2 x 25-1/2 inches.  LIMITED EDITION HAND PULLED & DRAWN ORIGINAL SERIGRAPH, NUMBERED & HAND SIGNED BY ARTIST. From the retired Mitch Moore Gallery Inc, NYC. Unmatted, never framed or displayed. Image area is in very good frameable vintage condition. 

ARTISTS BIO:   Marko Spalatin:  Born in 1945 in Zagreb, Croatia, Marko Spalatin immigrated to the United States in 1963.   He studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and earned a B.S. in Art in 1968 and a M.F.A. in 1971.   He is well known for his colorful geometric designs in the form of limited edition prints and also original paintings. The movement of light through the world and across variegated surfaces and the relationship between them, is one of the focal points of Spalatin's work. Although the paintings are inspired by nature, the specific source is finally not what is important. Spalatin's painting may inspire the viewer to recall the shifting brilliance of sunlight on summer's leaves, the swaying movements of a school of brightly colored tropical fish, the glittering reflections of moonlight on the ocean, or some other dazzling occurrence in nature. However, the viewer's task is not to figure out where a painting comes from, but to experience what it is.   His work is displayed in major museums around the world.   

  • ARTIST'S 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 contract 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."

  • His prints and paintings have been featured in over 70 solo exhibitions across the US, as well as in France, Croatia, Canada, Lebanon, Italy, and Slovenia, and in numerous group exhibitions in 12 countries. Spalatin’s work is represented in many private, corporate, and public collections, including:

COMMISSIONS AND PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

Musee d'Art Modern, Paris

Tate Gallery, London

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

New York Public Library, New York City

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio

Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

U.S. Steel Collection, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh National Bank, Pittsburgh, PA

Wisconsin Art Foundation

International Graphic Art Society, New York

American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas

Chase Manhattan Bank

Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Philadelphia, PA

Bibliotheque National, Paris, France

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

Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cleveland Museum of Art-Cleveland, Ohio

Elvehjem Museum of Art-Madison, Wisconsin

Museum of Modern Art-Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

Madison Art Center-Madison, Wisconsin

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

ONE MAN SHOWS

1971-Galerie Lahumiere, Paris

1971-University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

1971-Madison Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin

1970-Fairwather Hardin Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

1070-Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio

GROUP SHOWS

1970-Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

1970-Workd's Fair, Osaka Japan

1970-Phoenix Gallery, Berkeley, California

1970-New York State Council on the Arts travelling exhibition, in collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum

1970-Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York

1969-Lincoln Memorial Art Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1969-Madison Art Center, Madison, Wisconsin

1969-The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York

1968-American Graphic Workshops Exhibition, Cincinnati, Ohio

AWARDS AND PRIZES

1971-Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

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