Inspired by the color theories of the Bauhaus masters Johannes Itten and Josef Albers, Sperling is deeply engaged in the study of color and its effects on human perception. He hand mixes his pigments, documenting his recipes for color in meticulously kept notebooks. Sperling’s concentric hexagons evolve out of these studies. Color gradients of green, yellow, and violet are painted onto chains of bullseyes that are wrapped around one another in a centrifugal pattern. These incremental color variations make the picture plane seem to advance towards or recede from the viewer, creating a vibration and movement reminiscent of the work of another admirer of Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely.
- Extract from an essay by Leanne Scramone, Senior Curator at Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, France