Daniel Greenfeld

Lives and works in Berlin

Artist statement

My assemblages of wood and cardboard, while formally abstract, are a meditation on archaeological reconstruction, mirroring how we construct a whole image from fragments. Working with studio scraps and found objects, I seek to impose structure on disparate forms, a process echoing the historian's task of piecing together and understanding a society from its remnants. In the study of both natural and cultural history we are forced to bridge gaps in understanding, evidence and knowledge, and the hypotheses we develop and how we choose to fill in the blanks are revealing about our current set of beliefs. Inspired by conservation and Kintsugi, I connect unrelated elements without concealing my methods. The act of composition is a dialogue with chance, where repetition in the closed studio environment (rather than a dig site) influences emerging patterns. This interplay exposes the subjective nature of interpretation. My work invites viewers to consider the assumptions we bring to objects and the narratives we construct in the pursuit of meaning.

Artwork