By Alfred Manessier.
Sometime ago, back when I was doing geometry art more frequently, inspired by artists working in the 1950s, I did a piece inspired by Alfred Manessier (1911-1993). Manessier's ineffable spiritual experiences were outwardly expressed designing stained glass windows, which he also painted.
Manessier left teaching in 1943 for painting full-time. During this year he made a 3-day visit to the Trappist monastery in Orne. Demoralized by the Occupation and war, at the monastery he was deeply moved by the ancient garb and art, chants and worship, rhythms of work and silence by the monks. "I felt profoundly the cosmic link between sacred chanting and the world of nature all around. These men who sang were perhaps a little out of touch with the world but there was truth in their relationship with nature" he recalled. "If we had the evangelical purity of the Primitives, if we could look at nature with all innocence of love, then perhaps we could depict the sacred as they did. But we are men of this century: broken, exploded." Thus began the fertile period of abstract painting: "mosaic-like patterns, luminous colors often supported by a heavy black grid." (source: wikipedia)
Deep down inside, the following describes something we can all relate to, at least on some level.
This latter project in Canada triggered for Manessier another spiritual awakening. When visiting Canada in 1967 to view the projected Arts building site and to assess the Ottawa light, he was inspired during discussions of Canada's large areas of undeveloped land and Inuit art and life relatively untouched by Western culture: "I had a feeling of having penetrated elemental nature. The bottom of the lake is full of roots and of decomposed vegetation, and nature is reborn by way of all this. Never have I experienced a similar sensation. I discovered a prehistoric dimension." (source: wikipedia)
About two years ago, I did this piece, inspired by Manessier.
Here is a link to Alfred Manessier's wiki art page.