John McLaughlin’s work fuses Zen painting, Constructivism, and hard-edged Minimalism in geometric compositions of lines, squares, and rectangles rendered in a palette of primary colors. Exploring harmonies of color, shape, and composition, McLaughlin sought to “communicate only to the extent that the painting will serve to induce or intensify the viewer’s natural desire for contemplation without the benefit of a guiding principle,” he said. His paintings can be understood as descending from the work of seminal abstractionists Kasimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian, pioneers in the exploration of the sublime potential of pure color and form. McLaughlin first studied painting in Japan while serving as an intelligence officer during World War II, and he later settled in California. His body of work served as inspiration for the artists of the California Light and Space Movement.