Cordès was born in Brooklyn, NY, of Italian descent. She received his B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 1971. Her interest in art extends back to his childhood, when she loved to build objects with wooden blocks. At the same time, putting a line, shape, or form onto paper was sheer joy.

Cordès has worked with stained glass for 20 years; and she has been painting for over 40 years. Her work communicates a transitional state of mind: what is felt coupled with what is seen. For Cordès, the content of a work (in whatever medium) determines its execution.

Her extensive background in stained glass is evident; while color lends emotive and expressive elements to the images, what dominates the page is her use of line, shape, and form. There is a predominant tension that suffuses her work, sometimes identifying movement but more often implying the import of all that lies beneath the surface.

Above all, Cordès seeks to convey a fleeting state of mind or a transitory point in time; what is felt, what is seen, in an instant, is all that really matters. In that moment, there are no limits, everything is at stake, and underlying it all is a pervading sense of transformation. Whatever her medium, Cordès’ work seeks to go beyond the human face and figure to reach the many layers of emotion and context that linger beneath.