Professional biography
HERMINIO RODRIGUEZ
EDITORIAL / FINE ART / COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER
I am a Puerto Rican photographer based in Chicago, working between editorial, commercial and fine art photography.
For more than 30 years, photography has been my profession and my way of understanding people, places and culture. My practice moves between documentary observation and carefully constructed images, allowing me to work across very different photographic environments—from editorial assignments and commercial projects to portraits, food and restaurant photography, and long-term fine art projects.
I received an MFA in Imaging Arts and Science, with a concentration in Photographic Arts and Science, from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a BA in History from the University of Puerto Rico, with minors in Photography and Foreign Languages.
Over the course of my career, my photographs have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, New York Daily News, People Magazine, El Nuevo Día, San Juan Star, Vanidades and other editorial and commercial publications.
My fine art work has been exhibited in Puerto Rico, Chicago, New York, Miami and other locations. Recent exhibitions include Osamenta, a solo exhibition at Oliva Gallery in Chicago in 2025, and participation in Medley, a group exhibition by Latitude at Epiphany Center for the Arts in Chicago in 2026. My work has also been presented at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, the Puerto Rico Contemporary Art Museum, Museo de Las Américas and other galleries and cultural institutions.
In 2011, I received the First Prize and Acquisition Prize at FOTO MAC, the contemporary fine art photography competition organized by the Puerto Rico Contemporary Art Museum and UBS. I was also awarded a Fellowship from the Program in Latin American Studies at Princeton University in 2018.
My photographs are held in collections including the Contemporary Art Museum of Puerto Rico, Museo de las Américas, the Lynn Manillow Collection, the José Hernández Castrodad Collection and the Antonio Martorell Collection.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025
Osamenta
Oliva Gallery · Chicago, Illinois
2017
Contaminados (Polluted)
Museo de Las Américas · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2017
Contaminados (Polluted)
Inter American University of Puerto Rico · Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2013
Blancus
ArtLab 753 Gallery · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2012
Troche y el Tanque Comentan sobre Problemas de Percepción
Artist Residency Project & Solo Exhibition · Área Lugar de Proyectos · Caguas, Puerto Rico
2012
Disguised
La Respuesta Gallery · Santurce, Puerto Rico
2011
El Caserío de Adentro Afuera
North Light Photography Studio · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
The Intellectual Space
La Tertulia Bookstore · Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
2001
Atemporal
School of Public Communication Library, University of Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
Portrait of a Book Under Its Own Rules
Dickinson College Art Gallery · Carlisle, Pennsylvania
1998
Between the Peaceful Enlightenment of Heaven, and the Revolutionary Dark Side of Hell
Thesis Solo Exhibition · Ce n'est pas une Galerie · Rochester, New York
GROUP & CURATED EXHIBITIONS
2026
Face Value
Curator Show · Agitator Gallery · Chicago, Illinois
Medley — A Group Show by Latitude
Curator Show · Epiphany Center for the Arts · Chicago, Illinois
2025
Artists’ Collective Exhibition
Group Exhibition · National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture · Chicago, Illinois
2023
Opening Celebration Show
Curator Show · El Schomburg Art Space · Chicago, Illinois
2020
Feminismo en Puerto Rico
Museum Commission with Raquel Pérez-Puig · Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2017
La Cultura Loiceña en Tiempos de las Fiestas en Honor a Santiago Apóstol
Curator Show · Cueva María de la Cruz Gallery · Loíza, Puerto Rico
2015
Colonial Comfort
Curator Group Exhibition · Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2014
Proyecto Santurce: 30 Años del MAC en el Barrio
Curated Group Exhibition · Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2014 Photography Biennale
Curator Show · Vargas Gallery · Miami, Florida
Colonial Comfort
Curator Show · Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts · St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
2012
Cuarto Oscuro / Foto-Visura Pavilion
Group Exhibition · ArtLab 753 · San Juan, Puerto Rico
20-Tú
Group Exhibition · Casa Jefferson Gallery · San Juan, Puerto Rico
Fotorama
Group Exhibition · 778 Gallery · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2011
FOTO MAC
Juried Exhibition & Photography Competition · Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
First Prize & Acquisition Prize
12 × 12 Photography Show
Group Exhibition · ArtLab Gallery · San Juan, Puerto Rico
Certamen de Fotografía Contemporánea
Curator Show · Sacred Heart University Art Gallery · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2010
Muerte, Dolor, Santuario, Vida
Group Exhibition · Music Museum · Caguas, Puerto Rico
2009
Geografía Humana
Curator Show · Puerto Rico Art Museum · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2008
CIRCA
Represented by Galería 356 · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
Photo Miami
Represented by Galería 356 · Miami, Florida
Sin Envoltura / Unwrapped
Group Exhibition · Galería 356 · San Juan, Puerto Rico
CIRCA
Represented by CMLC Corp. · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2006
Convergencia, Divergencia y Emergencia
Group Exhibition · Galería 356 · San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Dams — Puerto Rican Artists at Photo Miami
Collective Exhibition · Photo Miami · South Beach, Miami, Florida
Tráfico Pesado
Group Exhibition · Galería 356 · San Juan, Puerto Rico
Saschenhaussen y los Insectos
Two-Artist Exhibition · El Café Seda · Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Re-Visions of Santiago Apóstol: Art, History and Cultural Criticism
Curator Show · José M. Lázaro Library, University of Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
2005
Marmalade
Permanent Installation · Marmalade Restaurant · Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Haiti and Dominican Republic on the Weakest Border
Exhibition · University of Puerto Rico at Cayey · Cayey, Puerto Rico
2001
Atemporal — Faculty/Institutional Context
The School of Public Communication Library, University of Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999
Annual Fine Art Department Faculty Show
Group Exhibition · Francisco Oller Gallery, University of Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
VA
Installation & Event with writer Bruno Soreno / Roberto Gotay · Alternative Space · Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
1998
Student Honor Show
Juried Exhibition · School of Photographic Arts and Sciences Art Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology · Rochester, New York
A Celebration of ImageMovementSound
Group Exhibition · Eastman Theater & Panara Theater · Rochester, New York
1997
Installation Workshop Show
Group Exhibition · School of Photographic Arts and Sciences Art Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology · Rochester, New York
It's About Time
Juried Exhibition · School of Photographic Arts and Sciences Art Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology · Rochester, New York
1996
Racial Identity
Juried Exhibition · University of Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
Photography: Way of Vision and Idea
Juried Exhibition · Francisco Oller Gallery, University of Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
COLLECTIONS & ACQUISITIONS
Lynn Manillow Collection · Chicago
Osamenta
Museo de las Américas · San Juan, Puerto Rico
De los Sacos
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico
De los Sacos
José Hernández Castrodad Collection · Puerto Rico
Osamenta · El Caserío de Adentro Afuera · Troche y el Tanque
Antonio Martorell Collection · Puerto Rico
Contaminados
The collection and acquisition information is drawn directly from your supplied exhibition/CV document.
LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS
2018
Retos en la Representación de los Desvíos de la Parada de Orgullo LGBTTQIP+ de San Juan
International Conference Sites Queer: Tecnologías, Espacios y Otredad
School of Architecture, University of Puerto Rico · Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
With Manuel Clavell, JD
2016
Más Allá de la Cámara
Photography as a research tool in historical, social and urban studies
University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus
La Fotografía Comercial y la Fotografía Artística
Semana de la Fotografía · Atlantic College · Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Your original document lists these lectures in 2018 and 2016.
AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS
2018
Fellowship
Program in Latin American Studies · Princeton University
2011
First Prize & Acquisition Prize
FOTO MAC · Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico / UBS
2004
Minority Journalism Educators Fellowship
American Press Institute
Photo Department Leadership: Motivating the Team, Harnessing the Power of Pictures
2002
Third Place
The Hearst Corporation Monthly Award · Sports Photography
Second Prize
ArteAlterno · Digital Photography
Fellowship
Institute of Journalism Excellence · American Society of Newspaper Editors