Daniel Ost knows well the wonders of nature. The famous seventeenth-century haiku master Basho once said, "Matsu no koto wa Matsu ni narae. Take no koto wa take ni narae“ - ''To know pine, study pine. To know bamboo, study bamboo.'' Daniel Ost may not be familiar with these particular words of Basho. However, when one looks at his transfigurations of plants one sees that he is a kindred spirit to Basho. Truly art knows no national borders; it has no past nor present. In the seventeenth century in France lived the philosopher René Descartes. In explaining human spirituality he talked about 'les espirits animaux', and this vestige of scholastic thinking was useful in making more concrete the workings of the mind. Ost' s works, however, make us think not of 'animal spirits' but of 'floral spirits'. Flowers and buds, new leaves and fallen leaves, the "floral spirits“ in them literally embody the life force. This is truly food for the soul; one can never tire of looking at such works.' The Naraya Memorial Sugimoto House Preservation Foundation, Hidetaro Sugimoto.