Oton Gliha's paintings are held in public collections around the world, for example New York, São Paulo, Paris and Turin.
Completing high school in 1933, Gliha enrolled in the Academy of fine Arts, where he studied under prominent Croatian artists such as Maksimilijan Vanka, Tomislav Krizman, Ljubo Babić.
His landscapes showed the influence of Paul Cézanne, and he tended to use thick paint in an impasto style to describe the form in his still life subjects.
In 1954, Oton Gliha painted "Primorje", a coastal landscape that marked the beginning of one of the major series in Croatian art.
In Gliha's mind, he connected the patterns of the walls on the landscape with the ancient Croatian glagolitic script from early religious texts and stone inscriptions.
Gliha himself described the connection:[2] "All at once, I saw the image of that landscape from Krk, criss-crossed by drystone walls as an old tablet with Glagolitic script carved upon it.
It helped me unravel all the excitement that I used to carry within myself, observing that strange geometry, architecture and sculpture that man had unconsciously created in his struggle with stone.
The shapes, rhythms and textures are caught in a variety of artistic styles and techniques, each one creating an individual mood from joyous to sad and reflective.
[2] By the 1960s and 70s, Gliha was using the motif to investigate the depth of the picture's space, the effect of light on the ethereal quality of the atmosphere and colour accents upon the plasticity of the form.
Gliha held solo exhibitions in leading modern art galleries in Turin, 1960; São Paulo, 1961 and Milan in 1964.
For example, the frescos in the Federal Executive Council in Belgrade, 1962, the mosaic in the lounge of Krk airport, 1970, and the festive curtain of the National Theatre in Rijeka, 1981.
[5] Oton Gliha's work can be found in the following public collections Brazil Croatia France Italy Macedonia Serbia United States of America