Raphael Montanez Ortiz: Destruction

A seven-decade retrospective on the Destruction Art pioneer, Museo del Barrio founder and theorist of Ethnoaesthetics

This comprehensive survey is published for El Museo del Barrio's 2022 exhibition on the American artist, activist, educator and founder of El Museo del Barrio, Raphael Montanez Ortiz (born 1934). Spanning the 1950s to the early 2020s, the retrospective presents a generous sampling of his oeuvre including his film, painting, photography, video installation and assemblage work. From his early days as a key figure in the international Destruction Art movement to his activism as an artist of Puerto Rican heritage with the Guerrilla Art Action Group to his concepts of "Ethnoaesthetics" and "Physio-Psycho-Alchemy" (which positions meditation, ritual and breathing practices at the center of a series of performative and participative works), his work consistently challenges and expands art historical conventions. Raphael Montanez Ortiz: Destruction enhances the retrospective with plate images, archival material, text excerpts, critical essays and an updated chronology.