The COVID-19 pandemic has made most of us look inward for meaning. It made a lot of us reconnect with what is essential, and make sense of the world we are in, and what we have contributed which made it how it is now: a world at a juncture between better or irreversibly worse. It has also forced visual artist Kenneth John Montegrande to dig deep, when he nearly died of the illness last year, and survived it only with full-on, non-stop medical attention at the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital; and surrendering wholeheartedly his fate to the will of the Creator. Undergoing such an intense experience gave Montegrande a renewed zest and appreciation for life, and a greater passion to pursue his purpose: to paint and to share his rich inner world to others. Celebrating his first decade as a painter, Montegrande embarked on a year-long series of solo exhibitions at various galleries to explore the foundations of his artmaking, namely, his spirituality (A Decade of Montegrande), his quest for the sublime (Symphonies of Seas and Skies), his personal recognition of the positive influences of sincere friendships forged through art (Magical Harmony), his unfathomable gratitude for being alive (Great Expectations) and now, his constant need for growth through Expanding Horizons. By returning to his second home, the United States of America, this solo exhibition at the Philippine Center, is his first international solo exhibition and a poetic way to mark his debut to the world stage. Expanding Horizons, his 15th solo exhibition to date, is an apt addition to the series of solo exhibitions which caps his first decade as a painter, after shifting from his previous career as a media strategist; continuing his retrospection on what has propelled him forward, and achieving the various milestones in his artistic career, such as the recognition for being the first Southeast Asian artist whose works are housed in the prestigious collection of Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese tycoon and mega art collector who founded and currently directs the Contemporary Arts Foundation. Being the youngest artist to exhibit at the Malacanan Palace Museum and be included in its prestigious collection. And being featured guest artist in museums like Fundacion Sanso, where he has had the honor of exhibiting with Presidential Medal of Merit Juvenal Sanso, within his first decade. Having recently been given another chance at life, and in gratitude for the myriad blessings he has received over the past decade, Montegrande expresses his hopes for a better future for himself, and for humanity as a collective at this juncture in our history. These skyscapes, which are made impactful through proficient composition and chiaroscuro, effectively set the ethereal clouds as the stage for the drama played by the long spectrum of light, as when the sun is low on the horizon, such as when it is setting, or dawning. Through them, Montegrande creates a metaphor for the world we are in now: wrapped in the darkness of human conflict and environmental disaster, yet instilled with the light of human reason, and hope. It is a world that is ambiguous: we are not sure yet if it is ending, or being reborn. With these cloudscapes, Montegrande successfully encapsulates the human condition and propels the tradition of landscape painting into the realm of affect, which in turn, hopefully inspires us to positive action. It is landscape that plays off the reflection of light against the clouds, to encourages us into our own personal, inward reflection. This introspection, with luck, makes us realize that we are also reflections of the divine. Through these cloudscapes, Montegrande seems to assure us that the key to the collective future lies in each of us. And for him, the present is an expanding horizon of hope.