On first encounter of the art attached above (Existing With Independence), I formed my first opinion on how appealing the design was to my eye and how easy it was to view. It felt new and confusing for a piece of artwork to sit so “simple” in front of my eyes.

It wasn’t until I sat longer with the work, looking for a personal connection, that the answer became clear. The simplicity is what makes the artwork feel so pleasant and fresh.

One of the earliest and most memorable collections of contemporary Neo-Purism artwork I explored was by LA-based painter and sculpter Steve Tepas. This collection reaches into the Purism movement, defined by the work of Le Corbusier and Ozenfant – with each piece designed in black and white, contributing to a unique, striking, and similar aesthetic across Tepas’s artwork.

During the transition of becoming an adult, arguably the most formative period in anyone’s life, relationships in my life were changing rapidly and human connection became seemingly far more complex to navigate. This “new” complexity hidden amongst these relationships and the resulting emotions set up a lingering question of where the seeming “simplicity” in human interaction went.

Exploring Tepas’s work made me realize this question can never be solved, nor do I believe it is meant to be. Human connection remains complex and while it is easy to believe relationships and the resulting outcomes should be black and white, they never are, and that’s the quiet reward of human connection.

Letting go of this desire for simplicity in relationships was when I began appreciating every outcome and letting change occur naturally, without a direct answer, something I struggled with for years.

I continue to revisit this specific collection often as an important reminder as I continue to navigate present and past relationships in my life.

Work from Tepas is currently featured at the Mankovsky Gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden. (May, 2026)

Some songs I relate to Tepas’s work:
Let it Happen – Tame Impala
Echoes – Pink Floyd
Something About Us – Daft Punk
Pink + White – Frank Ocean