Oblong Contemporary presents Flor Salina, a solo exhibition by Slovenian painter Cveto Marsič that invites everyone into a quiet immersive exploration of landscape, materiality, and perception. Rooted in the visual and symbolic language of salt fields, the show unfolds as a poetic meditation on natural processes translated into a refined painterly vocabulary. The exhibition will remain open to the public until 1 May 2026.
Flor Salina is dedicated to a fascination with salt landscapes, environments shaped through the interplay of water, mineral deposits, and climatic conditions. Marsič approaches these terrains as conceptual frameworks through which abstraction emerges. The artworks are inspired by the geometric patterns formed in coastal salt pans, where receding water leaves behind delicate crystalline structures. These formations, often referred to as salt blossoms, give the exhibition its title and conceptual anchor.
Marsič distils the essence of the landscapes into layered compositions that oscillate between aerial cartography and abstract painting. The surfaces of his canvases evoke geological strata, while fine lines and subtle tonal shifts suggest tidal channels, evaporation pools, and mineral veins. The result is a body of work that feels at once organic and constructed, where natural processes are mirrored in the artist’s method of gradual layering and repetition.
A defining characteristic of the exhibition is its restrained palette. Unlike the more vibrant chromatic intensity that has marked earlier phases of Marsič’s practice, Flor Salina adopts a quieter range of hues: muted whites, pale earth tones, and soft greys. This colour reduction amplifies the tactile and structural qualities of the paintings, encouraging a slower, more attentive mode of viewing. The works seem to hover between presence and absence. They reveal themselves gradually as the viewer engages with their subtle textures and rhythms.
The titles of the individual artworks further deepen the exhibition’s conceptual framework. Pieces such as Salt Nest, Poet’s Nest, and Restos de Sal evoke the cultural and historical significance of salt. For centuries, salt has been a vital resource used for preservation, trade, and ritual, and imbued with meanings that extend far beyond its material form. By referencing these associations, Marsič situates his work within a broader narrative that connects natural phenomena to human experience and memory.
An important aspect of the exhibition’s development is its connection to the gallery space itself. Part of the series was created in the Quiet Antresol, a studio environment within Oblong Contemporary in Dubai. This setting allowed Marsič to work in close dialogue with the architectural and atmospheric conditions of the gallery. The resulting art pieces carry a sense of place, shaped not only by distant salt landscapes but also by the immediate context in which they were produced.
Flor Salina can be understood as an exploration of time. The processes that inspire the works (evaporation, crystallisation, and sedimentation) are inherently gradual; they unfold over extended periods. Marsič translates this temporality into his artistic process, building surfaces through repeated gestures and layers that echo the accumulation of natural forms. The viewer, in turn, is encouraged to adopt a similar pace, allowing the works to reveal their complexity over time.
About the artist
Cveto Marsič (b. 1960, Slovenia), who resides in Portugal, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana in 1982, laying the foundation for a career that has spanned several decades and continents.
Marsič’s practice has long been concerned with the relationship between nature, memory, and perception. His distinctive visual language moves fluidly between representation and abstraction, often drawing inspiration from specific environments: coastal regions, arid landscapes, and geological formations. His paintings resist spectacle; instead, they offer spaces for contemplation and introspection.
Marsič’s art has been displayed in multiple exhibitions and major art fairs, which include Nesting in salt mud (solo) (Contemporary Art Museum of Istria, Pula, Croatia, 2012); Ars Itineris, Xacoveo 2010 (Ministerio de Cultura de España, Oviedo, Spain); Red Dot Fair London; Art Hong Kong; ARCO Madrid; FIAC; and MIART, among others. His paintings are in numerous public and private collections, including institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Tenerife (Spain), the Museu d’Art Contemporani (Palma de Mallorca, Spain), and the Museum of Modern Art (Rijeka, Croatia).
To get more information about Flor Salina, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
In addition, you might be interested in exploring Hard Like Tears, Soft Like Glass by Shamsa Al Omaira and reading our article about American abstract artist Seth P. Benzel.
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