Daniel Calderon-Arenas is an Mexican-born artist and educator from Houston, Texas. Daniel teaches courses on coding and digital processes at the K. G. McGovern College of the Arts and also has his own studio art practice. He currently writes generative art algorithms designed for the blockchain and has been exploring code-base creativity since 2016.
Calderon-Arenas was recently invited to participate in the Bright Moments CDMX exhibition, where he created "Bosque De Chapultepec," a code-based generative art NFT edition. The project was inspired by his childhood memories of visiting Chapultepec and eating pan dulce with his family. Visitors to the event were encouraged to explore the artwork in a space decorated like a picnic in the park, replete with digital displays and pastries to eat while watching the artwork generate on the screens. Calderon-Arenas saw the initiative as a chance to showcase the beauty and significance of Chapultepec to a group of worldwide collectors and tastemakers who are also leaders at the intersection of Web3 and art. The edition comprised of 100 distinct algorithmic outputs, each of which was immutably linked to an Ethereum blockchain token. This ownership allows collectors to examine, discuss, and exchange their freshly purchased work of art. Because generative art integrates randomness into the process, each work of art in the edition is unique, adding to the surprise and excitement of viewing the works for the first time. Visitors were left with a fascinating experience that merged parts of web3 technology and the arts with Mexican culture and history by the end of the exhibition.