Sean Nesselrode Moncada

Sean Nesselrode Moncada is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theory and History of Art and Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He holds a BA from Swarthmore College, and MA and PhD in Art History from New York University. His research focuses on Latin American and Latinx art, architecture, and visual culture, particularly exploring the intersections of modernity, petroculture, environment, and decolonization. His book Refined Material: Petroculture and Modernity in Venezuela (2023) won the ALAA–Arvey Foundation Book Award and the Fernando Coronil Prize, analyzing Venezuelan modernisms through petroleum extraction's lens.

Teaching at RISD, Moncada offers courses on Latin American visual culture, materiality, and global petrocultures. He leads travel courses in Mexico, emphasizing pre-Columbian and colonial legacies. His publications span journals like Architectural Theory Review and Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas, addressing topics from Gego’s design to El Techo de la Ballena’s dissident art.

• Grants: Arts Writers Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation
• Current Projects: Poetry anthology of El Techo de la Ballena and a biography of Maruja Rolando

Moncada’s work challenges canonical narratives, advocating for inclusive art histories and public-facing research. He resides in Philadelphia, PA.