Cárdenas's work delves into our relationship with reality and appeals to everything that is susceptible to becoming form: line, color, volume, and texture. His clearest intention is to objectify the line, in the sense of giving a concrete body to the two-dimensional. Likewise, this constitutes the fundamental means of his creation, and it is thanks to this that he manages to create the planes, volumes, shapes, and spaces that he articulates through precise structural calculations.

His pieces are built with metal rods, wire, and welding—materials that reiterate the concept of non-stable sculpture. However, on certain occasions, he has given way to more ethereal and lighter forms that allow the observer to appreciate and traverse them visually. In this way, Cárdenas transforms the materiality of the elements with which he works: what is rigid by nature achieves organic movement; what is heavy gives the impression of lightness; and what is rough acquires a smooth texture. In those works made with polyurethane hose and plastic strap, the degree of lightness and transparency is multiplied, and the line is transformed into a more dynamic composition that, in most cases, refers us to organic elements such as bird nests, clouds, mangroves, or wetlands.

Nature has always been the focus of his artistic reflections. Although a certain figurative quality is transversal to his work, his taste for abstraction and the desire to prioritize form prevail. These works incite curiosity about their interior and content, stimulating the imagination and guiding it towards infinite possibilities. The majority are open structures, achieved by the sum of different rectangular modules oriented with apparent randomness but distributed with such care that space and light complement each other. Likewise, the shadows and brightness projected onto the pieces and the surrounding areas enrich and extend the work horizontally or vertically, giving it the impression that it can grow indefinitely.

“I try to represent the way the Impressionists painted: through free and spontaneous action. I have countless pieces of different colors, shapes, and sizes that allow me to take them and place them in various ways, ultimately creating the sculptural work instinctively,” states Cárdenas.