The academy-trained painter Oton Gliha graduated at the Academy of fine arts in Zagreb in 1937 under professors Omer Mujadžić, Ljubo Babić and Marino Tartaglia. He perfected his craft in Paris from 1938 to 1939. In 1952, Gliha paid a study visit to Italy, while in 1979 he underwent brief professional education in New York. He created a large number of wall compositions. Gliha lived and worked in Zagreb, while often residing in Omišalj on the island of Krk.

From 1954 he began the process of summarizing artistic elements: then the painting Primorje was created, the first work from the great Gromača cycle. He transferred the rhythm of thunder into the artistic material, expressively expressing his experience of the landscape by creating abstract works. The space was reduced to a flat surface, the drawing became independent, and the basic plastic elements became akin to Glagolitic calligraphy. In that cycle, it is close to the informalist understanding of the surface. After 1963, classic works of flashing rhythm were created, which create the illusion of light and spatial infinity. During the 1970s, he emphasized chromatic rhythm, and in the following two decades, he created light and space in the picture with the power of color.