Title
Round
Lil mariachi sombrero from Coyoacán, dragon skin silicone, car parts found passing a dry arroyo, rabbit pelt, a black t-shirt stained with avocado oil, sequins, shards of found plexiglass
10 x 18 x 5 inches
Estimated Value Range:
$3,000 - $5,000
Starting Bid: $1,500
Bidding increments: $250
moCa presented Ruben Ulises Rodríguez Montoya’s first solo US exhibition, part of our Toby’s Prize series, in 2024 to great reception. Writing about the show, ArtNews noted that he is among one of few challenging dominant tastes in Latinx art, noting that his sculptures are bound to stand out. moCa will publish his first major catalog in partnership with LA-based X Artists’ Books this year.
Montoya (b. 1989, Parral, Chihuahua, MX) is a multidisciplinary artist and myth-maker whose works delve into border culture, abjection, mestizaje, and the intersection of human, animal, and land. Drawing from speculative fiction, cultural mythologies, and the labor of his family, Montoya’s practice hybridizes and creates parallel worlds that interrogate violence, environmental destruction, and the erasure of communities of color. His works manifest as fantastical beings, often shaped through the lens of magical realism and Nahualismo, and invite viewers to consider how adaptation and transformation can lead to healing in a post-apocalyptic future.
More:
Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya
Artistic Practice
Montoya’s sculptures and installations are created using silicone and reclaimed materials, often salvaged from deserts near his childhood home in New Mexico or the streets of Mexico City, where he currently resides. These materials come from discarded objects, providing a tactile link to a post-apocalyptic future where environmental destruction and violence have ravaged the land. Montoya views his sculptures as Nahuales—shape-shifting beings that oscillate between human and animal forms. These beings act as metaphors for the body, exploring how violence eradicates communities of color and how regeneration, decay, and transformation can provide new meanings for survival and protection. His work engages deeply with Mesoamerican cosmology and the idea of constant flux, healing, and the continuous cycles of life and death.
Notable Works and Exhibitions
In addition to moCa Cleveland, Montoya’s works have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the Palm Springs Art Museum (CA), the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art (AZ), and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (VA). He has also exhibited at renowned galleries including Commonwealth and Council (Los Angeles, CA) and Sargent’s Daughters (New York, NY). His work has been reviewed in artnet news, Hyperallergic, The New York Times, and Contemporary Art Review LA. Montoya is represented by Sargent’s Daughters in New York.
About the Artist
Montoya graduated with an MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2020. His work often addresses the boundaries between the human, the animal, and the environment, using hybridity and transformation as a metaphor for the racial and social struggles experienced by marginalized communities. His fantastical beings, inspired by themes of abjection and adaptation, highlight the dualities of beauty and horror and the ways in which violence is enacted on these communities, while also reflecting a possibility for regeneration and renewal.
Selected Collections and Exhibitions
Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, AZ
Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA
Company Gallery, New York, NY
Sargent’s Daughters, New York, NY
The Julia Stoschek Foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany
moCa Cleveland (catalog publication in 2025)
