{"id":803417,"date":"2026-08-05T10:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T10:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/803417\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T10:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T10:50:09","slug":"daniel-greenfelds-artworks-arent-collages-theyre-mosaics-made-of-paper-scraps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/803417\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Greenfeld\u2019s artworks aren\u2019t collages, they\u2019re mosaics made of paper scraps"},"content":{"rendered":"

When describing his precise illustrative works with paper, Berlin based artist Daniel Greenfeld<\/a> doesn\u2019t quite pin his technique down as \u201ccollage\u201d, he tells us. \u201cThe material isn\u2019t layered, but something between assemblage and inlaid mosaic,\u201d he says. \u201cI cut up painted cardstock to make my pieces, slicing out cavities so new shapes can be embedded and glued in.\u201d Carefully tiled up from these precious scraps, his architectural observations of everyday faces<\/a>, places<\/a> and fruit<\/a> have come to create quite the circular illustration process: \u201cEvery new piece sends its offcuts back into the scrap bin, waiting to turn up in the next one, and the scraps get more intricate the longer I work this way,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n

If you look at any of the artist\u2019s abstract works under the magnifying glass, you\u2019ll see that these small paper scraps have been smushed and squeezed tightly alongside each other like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle \u2013 some look cosy, but some are simply the perfect fit. Whilst clean and constructivist from afar there is a roughness and imperfection to the artist\u2019s works that makes them feel less intricate up close. Shards of paper stuff smudges or crumples against each other where Daniel has fixed them into place with glue \u2013 a mess he likes to \u201cembrace\u201d to keep from getting \u201ctoo precious or second guessing myself\u201d, the artist says.<\/p>\n

This ongoing series of paper mosaics started somewhat by chance. As part of his studio practice, Daniel builds 3D lamps<\/a> and sculptures<\/a> using the natural shape of offcuts with quite the same spirit \u2013 the aftermath of which is a debris that constantly covers his studio floor with a whole host of interesting shapes. One day, this perspective inspired him to take a break from working in 3D. \u201cI picked out my favorite shapes and gathered them into flat abstract compositions \u2013 at first leaving as much empty as filled. The whole time I kept thinking about archaeology, and what it must be like to find ancient ruins and have to piece them back together, guessing at what existed in the missing spaces,\u201d he says. The problem solving nature of building a scene out of just what he has, and nothing more, is the motivating factor for Daniel. The idea that there might be \u201ca complete original design\u201d just waiting in the rubble is what keeps the artist coming back to this process again and again.<\/p>\n