Peter Millett, Hourglass, 2018, painted wood, 32 x 9 x 4 in

Peter Millett, a Seattle-based artist, has been exploring the mystery of common forms in his artwork since the late 1970s. Raised within the rich architectural history of Chicago, Millett's journey across the world brought inspiration from costume and ritual, vernacular architecture, and sacred monuments. His geometric intricacies, evident in both sculpture and drawings, echo the intense patterns found in ancient tile work of Iranian mosques, while the repeated but irregular lines carry the memory of textiles woven on simple looms by Andean weavers.

Millett's work, with its abstract quality, is a blend of personal and global influences. The construction-grade dimensional wood, painted in monochrome hues, hints at the timber of the Northwest, grounding the work in a regional context. His art embodies a unique blend of barn-door modernism, steering away from the slick minimalism of New York.

His work is in the collection of the Museum of Northwest Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Seattle Art Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Tacoma Art Museum; Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington; King County Public Art Collection; Microsoft Corporation; Boeing Corporation, Chicago, and other private and public collections. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including an Artist Trust Grant and the Betty Bowen Committee Special Recognition Award from the Seattle Art Museum.