Bernardo Rodriguez is a Dominican artist based in New York. His work moves between painting and illustration, rooted in questions of land, memory, migration, and the quiet tension between control and surrender. Having immigrated to New York at a young age, his relationship to place has never felt fixed. That sense of movement continues to shape his practice.
In recent years, his studio work has explored organically driven paintings that sit between abstraction and landscape. Rather than depicting specific locations, Rodriguez approaches land as a living presence—layering oil paint with soil, natural pigments, and handmade tools to build surfaces that feel worked, weathered, and responsive. His process is physical and intuitive, allowing gesture, erosion, and chance to play an active role in the final image.
Alongside his fine art practice, Rodriguez has collaborated with publications and organizations including The New Yorker, The Marshall Project, The Innocence Project, Domus Magazine, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Nike. His illustration work, known for its emotional precision and narrative clarity, has appeared internationally in print and exhibition contexts.
Rodriguez earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2022, where he received the Paula Rhodes Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration and was selected as commencement speaker for his graduating class at Radio City Music Hall. His work has been exhibited in New York and abroad, including The Long Island Museum, SVA’s Chelsea Gallery, H-Art Gallery, Syracuse University’s Gallery in Florence, and in Athens, Greece.
Across mediums, his work remains rooted in observation, lived experience, and a sustained attention to the natural world.