This week's new addition to my Sacred Artists listings can truly be called an artist of the Global Village. Wayne Forte was born in the Philippines, raised and educated in Southern California, and married in Brazil, studying and making art, as well, in France and Italy. The artist’s Asian heritage is reflected in his appreciation for loose calligraphic linework. From Latin America comes his love for the monumental figures to be found in the Mexican mural painters. His time spent in Europe deepened his understanding of the continent's Great Masters, whose work he “updates” in his art. As an American artist, he has been influenced by Modernist trends from Cubism to Conceptualism. All these elements come together in a body of sacred art work, amply illustrating that geographic borders may limit the flow of people but never artistic inspiration. (John Kohan)