While the visual forms in my work grow out of a vocabulary of subtle tension developed by Modernist artists such at Piet Mondrian , Ad Reinhart , Barnett Newman , and Agnes Martin , it also speaks to my affinity for icons , shrines , temples , mosques , and spaces of deep contemplation . I very much like the idea that an artwork can function as a focus for human contemplation and reflection — that in some way , it can serve a gateway to both collective and individuated memory . To that end , I look to color to function as an indicator of place — sometimes particular and real , other times imagined .