Starting off with a very simple composition and placement of the elements I tried creating a balanced and calm work. For my quote to fit accordingly:

“I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.” -Richard Wright


Though I thought the colors and current coloration didn't help much.

I inverted what I had previously and added this new shape and some small bits to give the boring gradient some variety. Looked like a much better start now, still some slight color in this as you can see but that will change in the next few steps.

Added a few spheres and some 'echo' lines which support my initial quote for the theme of the exhibition.

Again more elements and some lights for visual pleasure that still support the balance and calmness of the work. Creating some kind of singing triangular shapes. Starting to look like an appealing piece!

Added some spheres again on the sides, composition still works from my point of view, added an eye to include a bit of life in this, in my opinion it worked out very well.

Added a huge 'sun' above it, a little detail on the spheres on the sides and some more silver stuff in the middle. The composition comes together nicely, only thing I'm missing is some textures and better colors.

Yes I've said texture and some better colors, I've totally desaturated our 'singing composition' to add on better colors in the next through some adjustments. If you've got good eyes, you may already have noticed the texture and darker spots in this update.

Finally, with a bunch of Adjustment Layers I've tweaked the boring unsaturated piece into a slightly colored but appealing and balanced minimalistic work. I hope you liked this small case study where I've shown that less CAN be more, even with minor changes but in big amounts.

Below you'll find a quick animation of the above,