The sounds echoing around Daniel Acero’s studio are a study in contrast: the hushed rustling of brushes in paint, broken by the mechanical chirps of 3D printers steadily building shapes in plastic. These are the foundations of his unique practice, incorporating software to create kinetic, multidimensional works that merge prismatic color with sculptural forms.
In hindsight, the self-taught artist’s journey seems inevitable. The Miami resident mastered 3D modeling programs in his former life as a product designer. “But what I liked most was the creative process, not the business side,” Acero shares. He took up painting in his spare time to stretch his creative muscles, and 3D thinking naturally slipped into his approach. The artist began incorporating elements like scrap wood to craft sculptural effects before fully embracing 3D printing for its endless possibilities. “I love that whatever I have in my mind, I can put into a physical form,” he says.
His latest series focuses on Cubism, demonstrated through pieces such as Mayaimi Reflections (seen on the wall behind him here).
Working under the moniker Politics—chosen because, as with art, politics “can mean something different to each person based on perspective,” Acero explains—he begins each piece by drawing potential compositions on a notepad or an iPad. He then renders these flat designs into digital models, engineering angles and testing hues until a palette emerges.
After the varying components are printed into forms made of bio-renewable plastic, the artist assembles them like a jigsaw puzzle into the final structure, gluing the pieces to a board. From there, he turns to materials traditionally utilized by the European masters. He first applies a coat of plaster, creating a surface for color to adhere. Then Acero paints with thick oils, often playing with the medium’s buildable texture. “I like to create a sense of movement, using the brush to carve into the paint,” he describes.
This dialogue between classic and cutting-edge techniques enriches the artist’s current series, translating the hallmarks of Cubism into his distinctive style. He felt a kinship with the early-20 th -century art movement’s rebellious visual experimentation. “I wanted to explore this in a different way and establish Cubism for the age we’re in now,” Acero says. By incorporating 3D elements, he can further fragment and exaggerate his Cubist forms, from his reimagining of a Rogier van der Weyden portrait to his kinetic abstraction of Miami street life.
These pieces will serve as the heart of the artist’s solo exhibition at the Emporium Brazil Design Gallery, kicking off October 24. His multidimensional work—a genre he calls “kinetic impressions”—feels ripe with possibility. “I never want to keep to just one particular style,” Acero says. “This gives me the freedom to keep exploring.”
Deconstructing Glamour by Daniel Acero.
Miami artist Daniel Acero, who goes by the moniker Politics, creates painted 3D works.
His latest series focuses on Cubism, demonstrated through pieces such as Mayaimi Reflections (seen on the wall behind him here).
Deconstructing Glamour by Daniel Acero.
“I like to push the buttons to be different,” Acero says. “I hope nothing I do or create is similar to anybody else.”