Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo is the largest, most northerly, and the most geographically isolated of the six Tewa villages. It was where the Spanish selected as their first capital when they arrived in the late 1500s. Six months later, they moved their capital to Santa Fe. San Juan, as it was christened by the Spaniards, is known as one of the pueblos where ritual and political matters continue to be strictly observed. Living and working in this environment, Montoya developed two independent sides of his art: figurative studies of traditional Tewa ritual; and his more cerebral, purely abstract studies of color and form. His popular figurative works brim with vitality and action. His strong asymmetric compositions, such as this image of a pueblo, come to life as if one were witnessing the pueblo rather than viewing a piece of art.
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