Danniel Cortada

Artist Statement

My practice explores systems of value, transformation, identity, and change through sculpture and mixed media. I am interested in materials that carry histories of use, labor, accumulation, and cultural meaning, often transforming ordinary or overlooked objects into immersive forms that invite viewers to reconsider what and who we assign value to.

Influenced by mathematics, science, popular culture, architecture, and my experiences moving between Miami and San Diego, I use processes of collecting, assembling, layering, repetition, and reconstruction to investigate how systems shape our understanding of the world. My work sits between the organic and constructed, the personal and collective, and the tangible and conceptual. I am particularly drawn to the tension between permanence and impermanence, traditional making and emerging technologies, and the ways environments influence our sense of identity and belonging.

Across my practice, I use familiar materials and visual languages to create moments of curiosity and contradiction. Whether working with pennies, recycled materials, mirrors, metal, or other found and constructed elements, I am interested in how transformation can reveal hidden relationships between material, labor, time, and meaning.