By Steven Vargas

On Friday, I checked out the newest exhibition at Kohn Gallery in Hollywood. “Un Nuevo Manglar” by Puerto Rican artist Ricardo Cabret reimagines his digital art into physical paintings. Grids are layered on pastel landscapes to introduce a mathematical perspective. Cabret’s work is informed by his background in engineering — he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s in computer science.

His interest in technology and art collides in the central work of the exhibition, “Guión Criptográfico 3.0.” The work is projected on the wall of the gallery and shows an ever-evolving grid of colors. Gradient spheres pop up on the screen in succession before being erased by a single color. A firework effect follows. The colors and patterns are determined by a code that is encrypted over and over again to create new images. Cabret calls it “the best metaphor for abstraction.”

Cabret told The Times that the work was inspired by Charles Gaines’ “Gridwork.” He initially re-created Gaines’ pieces through code. Two and a half years later, the work has transformed into this new iteration. “Un Nuevo Manglar” is free and available to view until June 17.