The poet, Enrique Molina wrote a literary essay on the exhibition on Arte Destructivo [Destructive Art] in which he states that its power is in the unveiling of what is hidden and prohibited. Observed with Surrealism in mind and the imprint of automatic writing, Molina compiled metaphors about the exhibition organized by Kenneth Kemble. As far as the artists were concerned, Molina pointed to an overt attack to good habits as well as a unity through their collective creation. Among the terms used by Molina, those that are associated with art of the 1960s were: “prohibited forms,” “magical,” “secret,” “chaos,” “expressive strength of matter,” “freedom,” “light,” “experiment,” “insubordination,” “metamorphosis,” among many others.

Kenneth Kemble (Buenos Aires, 1923–1998) was one of the key artists of the Informalist movement in Argentina. Beginning in 1956, he experimented with collages, assemblages, reliefs, and informal and sign painting. Kemble participated in the exhibitions of the Asociación Arte Nuevo [New Art Association], a bastion of abstract trends.  In 1959, he was part of the exhibition Movimiento Informal [Informalist Movement] at the Van Riel Gallery. In 1961, Kemble was the driving force behind the exhibition that presented arte destructivo [Destructive Art]. He practiced art criticism, mainly at the Buenos Aires Herald (a newspaper for the English community in the capital, founded in 1876) between 1960 and 1963. Afterwards, he continued his written reflections, with an emphasis on the theory of the creative process. 

Enrique Molina (1910–1997) was a surrealist Argentinean poet, defender of automatism in writing, editor along with Aldo Pellegrini of the journal, A partir de Cero [Starting from Zero] (1952). His 1960s production highlights Molina’s best poetry with books such as Amantes antípodas [Antipodal Lovers] (1961), Fuego libre [Open Fire] (1962), Las bellas furias [The Gorgeous Furies] (1966), and Monzón napalm [Napalm - Monsoon] (1968).

This document is part of the set in reference to the exhibition on arte destructivo [Destructive Art] that was carried out at the Galería Lirolay from November 20–30, 1961, in which Kenneth Kemble, Luis Alberto Wells, Enrique Barilari, Silvia Torrás, Jorge López Anaya, Jorge Roiger, and Antonio Seguí participated. This exhibition played a pivotal role in the direction of the 1960s Argentinean art.