Blanca Estela Rodríguez
b. Mexico City
Blanca Estela Rodríguez creates perceptual installations and sculptural works that explore light, geometry, and the instability of fixed identity. Drawing from her transnational experience between Mexico, Germany, Sweden, and the United States, her practice investigates how perception shifts through movement, reflection, and spatial encounter. Using acrylic glass, line, and illumination, Rodríguez constructs environments where solid structures appear to dissolve and viewers become active participants in meaning-making. Her work invites contemplation of how identity, place, and understanding are shaped through relational experience.
Education
Diplom (MFA equivalent), Visual Communication at Hochschule für bildende Künste (HFBK), Hamburg, Germany, 2010
M.Sc., Art and Technology Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2004
B.A., Graphic Design Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM-AZC), Mexico City, Mexico, 2001
Selected Solo & Two Person Exhibitions
2023 Perception Illuminated (duo), Tint Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2019 Geometrías de Luz (solo), Incline Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016 Emily (solo), Frank-Ratchye Project Space, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2011 Rückkehr (duo), Westwerk, Hamburg, Germany
2006 Juego Doble (duo), Centro Cultural de España en México, Mexico City, Mexico
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 SF Art Fair, represented by Tint Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2024 Flexible Hours, WAVE Collective, San Francisco, CA
2024 Illuminating Perspectives, SEBARTS, CA
2023 Wander Woman 3, Katz Snyder Gallery, JCC San Francisco, CA
2022 SFAC Art Collection Exhibition, Southeast Community Center, San Francisco, CA
2022 20-Year Anniversary Alumni Exhibition, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2021 Amplify, SF Open Studios, San Francisco, CA
2021 Spell of the Senses, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2018–2008 Exhibitions at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), SOMArts (San Francisco), Forum Box (Helsinki), Kunsthaus (Hamburg), Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli (Mexico City), and others.
Fellowships/Awards
2015–2016 Latinx Teaching-Artist Fellowship, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2009–2010 Jóvenes Creadores Fellowship, FONCA (National Fund for Culture and the Arts), Mexico
2007–2009 DAAD Artist Fellowship, Germany
2002–2004 Study Abroad Fellowship, FONCA, Mexico
Teaching Experience
2024 Teaching Artist, Participa Workshop, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,
San Francisco, CA
2023 Teaching Artist, Bessie Carmichael Elementary School (through YBCA),
San Francisco, CA
2018–2020 Art Educator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), Berkeley, CA
2016–2018 Art Instructor, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2017–2018 Art Instructor, City College of San Francisco CA
2014–2001 Workshops and courses in digital art, photography, electronics, and interactive media in Mexico City