Adál Alberto Maldonado

photographer

Puerto Rican^[1,3] b. 1 November 1948, Utuado, Puerto Rico^[1,2] d. 9 December 2020, San Juan, Puerto Rico^[1,2] active until 2020

Adál Alberto Maldonado (1948–2020), known professionally as ADÁL, was a prominent Puerto Rican photographer and multimedia artist based in New York City. A key figure in the Nuyorican cultural movement, his work explored themes of identity, diaspora, and political subversion through portraiture, installations, and performance art. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute (M.F.A. 1972) and was known for his satirical and provocative approach to photography. His techniques were influential in the New York art scene, notably influencing other photographers such as Robert Mapplethorpe.^[1,2,4,5]

• identity
• diaspora
• political subversion
• Nuyorican culture