The conceptual series had its infancy during the pandemic. In the evenings I would wander the neighborhoods and stare at crisscrossing power and communication lines and think about the unpleasant impact these structures have on my longing for an undisturbed view of the horizon …

Eventually, I wondered if Piet Mondrian had similar thoughts when he studied and painted trees and their complex and intertwined branch structures. As Mondrian’s career progressed, his work became more abstract. Towards the end of his conceptual journey, Mondrian distilled his work to straight lines and primary colors. Mondrian reasoned that beauty and pureness is formed by simplicity and that complex structures prevent us from seeing what lies beyond.

This background knowledge spurred this concept aiming to illustrate how mankind’s actions or inactions impact our perception: man-made structures preventing us from seeing what lies beyond, mankind’s inaction on climate change affecting the quality of our lives (during the time this series was created, the sky was often hazy as a result of smoke lingering in the air caused by wildfires, something that has become a recurring event in the Pacific Northwest, where I live).

The crisscrossing cable arrangements are ultimately reassessed for compositional value, and as the series progresses, order is sought to “soften” mankind’s impact on our perception, allowing the eye to rest and see what may lie beyond. The hazy skies dictate the color pallet of the series and serve as a stark reminder that if mankind doesn’t take climate change seriously, pureness, such as clean and crisp air, will no longer be a given for mankind to enjoy, even if we peel the layers back.

Mondrian’s monumental achievement of abstraction demands respect. For this reason, Greetings to Piet should be seen as an approximation and not as an appropriation of his reflections.