Bio
Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, born in Mexico in 1981, been the Assistant Professor and Area Head of the Ceramics Department at the University of Notre Dame since 2023. He earned his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2013 and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA from the Universidad de Guanajuato in 2003. Lara has had solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Museo de Arte Moderno in the state of Mexico; Museo de la Ciudad in Querétaro, Mexico; Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago; the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago; C.G. Boerner in New York City; Centro cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Kruger Gallery in Marfa, Texas; and Test Site Projects in Las Vegas, among others. He has been in such residencies as the Vermont Studio Center, ACRE, Ragdale, Mana Miami, Rogers Art Loft, and Cross Currents: Cultural Exchange. Lara has two monographs of his work, Máscaras y Artefactos and Memorials. He won the first price in sculpture at the Premio Nacional de las Artes Visuales in Mexico in 2010. He has received several awards including: Proyectos Especiales FONCA (Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes), Mexico City; Emerging Artist Grant, Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York City; Jóvenes Creadores, FONCA, Mexico City; Extraordinary Abilities Visa, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; James Nelson Raymond Fellowship, 2013 SAIC Fellowship Competition; PECDA Estudios en el extranjero, Instituto Queretano de la Cultura y las Artes; International Graduate Scholarship, SAIC; and the John W. Kurtich Travel Scholarship, SAIC, Berlin/Kassel, Germany, among others. Currently, Lara lives and works in Chicago.
Education
2013 M.F.A. Studio Art, Concentration: Ceramics.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL James Nelson Raymond Fellowship
2003 B.F.A. Studio Art, Concentration: Sculpture. Instituto Allende.
Universidad de Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. México, Summa Cum Laude
2010 - present
2010 - present
Awards
2022 “Memorials Pilgrimage” 3AP, 3 Arts, Chicago, IL
“Individual Artists Program Grants” DCASE, Chicago, IL
2021 “Make a Wave Award” 3 Arts, Chicago, IL
2020 “JMF COVID-19 Relief Fund”, Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York City, NY
“Individual Artists Program Grants” DCASE, Chicago, IL
“FCA Emergency Grant COVID-19 Fund” Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York City, NY
“Finalist Award in Sculpture” Illinois Arts Council Agency, Chicago, IL
2019 “Career Opportunity Fund” Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York City, NY
2017 “Proyectos Independientes” FONCA (Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes) Mexico City, Mex.
2016 "Emerging Artist Grant" Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York City, NY
2014 "Jóvenes Creadores" FONCA (Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes) Mexico City, Méx.
"Extraordinary Talets Visa" U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
2013 “Artist’s Grant” Vermont Studio Art Center, Johnson, VT
“James Nelson Raymond Fellowship” 2013 SAIC Fellowship Competition, Chicago, IL
2012 “PECDA Study Abroad” Instituto Queretano de la Cultura y las Artes. Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“John W. Kurtich Travel Scholarship” The New Berlin and Documenta, Germany
“2012-2013 International Graduate Scholarship” The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
2011 Representing Mexico “Ceramics Annual of America” Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
“The Incentive Scholarship” The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. IL
2010 “National Prize of Visual Arts” 1st Place in Sculpture, Libertad Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“Apoyarte” Grant. Instituto Queretano de la Cultura y las Artes, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
Honorific Mention, “National Ceramic Award” Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Méx.
2008 “Masks” Fundación DRT Grant, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
1999 2nd Place “Masks” Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024 “Constructs” The Mission Projects, Chicago, IL
“9/100 Works” Riley Hall, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
2021 “Campo Santo” Savannah Gallery for Contemporary Art, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN
“Crowd Gate” Visual Arts Gallery, Governors State University, University Park, IL
2020 “Hold the Horses” Envisage Artist Retreat, Chippewa Falls, WI
2019 “Polyrhythms” Arrowhead Gallery, Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, IL
"Paradiddle" Test Site Projects, Las Vegas, NV
"Recent Work (Ephemeral Memorials Series)" Skylight Gallery, Governors State University, University Park, IL
2016 "Narrativas del Expatriado" Kruger Gallery, Marfa, TX
“Deportable Aliens” C.G. Boerner, New York City, NY
"La Paz" Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2015 “Deportable Aliens” National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2014 "Recent Work" Mana Contemporary 613, Chicago, IL
2013 “Broken Dialogue” Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México Campus Chicago, IL
2011 Rodrigo Lara “Retrospective Exhibition” Museum of Modern Art, Toluca, Edo. Méx.
“Devastación en carne propia” Municipal Gallery. Quéretaro, Méx.
2010 “Enjambre” Atelier Gallery, Fabrica la Aurora. San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
“Artifacts II” Cine Teatro Rosalío Solano, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“Enjambre” Libertad Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
2009 “Masks” DRT Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
2008 “Rodrigo Lara” Gallery and Studio, Rodrigo Lara, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“Gravedad y emoción” Salvador Zúñiga Gallery, Casa de la culturade Celaya. Gto. Méx.
2008 “Creación humana” BU Gallery, Fabrica la Aurora. San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
“Cuerpos en movimiento” Gallería Contemporanea. San Juan del Río, Qro. Méx.
“Artifacts” Atelier Gallery, Fabrica la Aurora. San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
“Figura Humana” DRT Gallery, Querétaro Méx.
2007 “Secuelas de Guerra II” Centro cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
“Retrospectiva” Coleccionista Mario Ponce, México D.F.
2006 “Urbe indiferente” Artes México, Carlos MuRo Gallery, San Miguelde Allende, Gto. Méx
“Secuelas de Guerra” Universidad del Valle de México, Campus Querétaro. Qro. Méx.
2003 “La Intensidad de un Tiempo” Museo de la Ciudad, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
2002 “Movimientos Gestuales” Pérgola Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
Mural “Villa y la Revolución” Permanent exhibition, Fancisco Villa Elementary School
San Juan Juvenal, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 CAL (Cooperativa de Agentes Líquidos) Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mex.
2024 “Permanent collection installation,” Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State University, PA
“EXPO Chicago” The Mission Projects, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
“Cerámica SURO a story of collaboration”, La Casa de México en España, Madrid, Spain
“Arte Diseño Xicágo II” National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2023 “Amuleto” San Juan, Puerto Rico
“REVEAL: Recent Acquisitions 2020-2023,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
“Loving Forms” Julius Caesar, Chicago, IL
“Not Just Another Pretty Face” Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
“Cerámica SURO a story of collaboration” Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, TX
“Amuleto” The Franklyn, Chicago, IL
“Amuleto” Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
“Convictions” Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL
2022 “LatinxAmerican” Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
“Thee Architects” Saratoga Clay Arts Center, Schuylerville, NY
2021 “LatinxAmerican” DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
2020 “Fake Real” Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
“In Flux: Chicago Artists and Immigration” Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
“Solo un poco aquí: Day of the Dead” National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
“Don’t You Stop, We Won’t Stop” The Franklin, Chicago, IL
2019 “Not Just Another Pretty Face” Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
“Reminiscence” One After 909, Chicago, IL
“Cross Currents” Smart Museum, Chicago, IL
2018 “Tlatelolco 68” National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
“The Annual” Chicago Artist Coalition, Chicago, IL
2017 “Papantla tus hijos vuelan” Installation at 6018North, Chicago, IL
“Rise from the Rubble, Weather the Winds, Chicago Artist Coalition, Chicago, IL
“Art Miami” Zolla-Lieberman Gallery, Miami, FL
"Rodin and the Contemporary Figurative Tradition" Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park,
Grand Rapids, MI
“Expo Chicago” Zolla-Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
"Memoria Presente" National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
"Creación en Movimiento" Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco, Mexico City, Mexico
"Layer Cakes" Zolla-Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
"Four Saints in Three Acts" DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
2015 "Chapel" 6018 North, Expo Chicago
"Nuestras Historias" (Permanent Exhibition) National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2014 "Gravity" Flats Studio, Chicago, IL
"Day of the Dead: Rito y Recuerdo" National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
"Front and Center" Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
"Playground" Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2013 “Metamorphosis” Noyes Art Center, Evanston, IL
“MFA Show” Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach County Convention Center, Florida
2012 “New Work” Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach County Convention Center, Florida
2011 Ceramics Annual of America, Fort Mason, San Francisco CA
2010 “70 Artistas una misma causa” Museo de Arte de Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
2009 “Cuerpo presente” City Museum, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“El MACAY, Anfitrión de la plástica nacional” Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de
Yucatán. Mérida, Yucatán. Méx.
“Tianquiztli” Libertad Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
2008 “Stations and Terminals” Libertad Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“Collective” Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
"Pedro Coronel Biennale" Ex-templo de San Agustín, Zacatecas, Zac. Méx.
"Collective exhibition" Náxica Gallery, Mexico, D.F. Méx.
"Collective exhibition" Factor Arte Gallery, Pto. Vallarta, Jal. Méx.
2007 “Talentos Queretanos” DRT Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“Basic Element” Centro cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
2006 “Arte en Espiral” Art Museum of Querétaro, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“Function and Beauty” Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
“En tus manos” Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Chicago, IL
“9/11 Un lustro después” City Museum, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
2005 "Libertad Art Contest", Libertad Gallery, Querétaro, Qro. Méx.
“3 Surreal Visions” Las Palmas, Chicago, IL
“Postcards” Staatliche Akademie der Bilden Künste, Karlsruhe, Germany
2004 “Day of the Dead” L’association pour l’estampe et l’art populaire, Paris, France
“Pilsen Open Studios” Casa Aztlán, Chicago, IL
“Ounce of Art, Pound of Cure Auction” West Loop Studio, Chicago, IL
“3rd Annual Pilsen Cultural Celebration” Harrison Park, Chicago, IL
“Summer Art Show” Flat Iron Arts Building, Chicago, IL
“Rejectamenta” Gross Park, Chicago, IL
2003 “Day of the Dead: Reflections of the Soul” National Museum of Mexican Arts, Chicago, IL
“Collective Exhibition” Indigo Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
“Change of Season” Corazones 19 Gallery, Guanajuato, Gto. Méx.
“3 Dimensional” Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
2002 "Photography Collective Exhibition" Pérgola Gallery , San Miguel de Allende Gto. Méx
“De Todo Tipo” Área 51, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
2001 “Comprarte” Cámara de Diputados, Toluca, Méx.
“Retrospective Exhibition 50 years of Art in San Miguel de Allende” Pérgola Gallery,
San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
2000 “Day of the Dead Exhibition” Pérgola Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
“Artefilia” Pérgola Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
1999 “Crossed Paths” Pérgola Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Méx.
Residencies
2025 Joan Mitchell Center Residency, New Orleans, LA
2022 Cerámica Suro, Guadalajara, Mexico
Memorials Pilgrimage, Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria
2021 MASS MoCa, North Adams, MA
2020 Envisage Residency, Chippewa Falls, WI
2019 Rogers Art Loft, Las Vegas, NV
2018 Mana Residency, Miami, FL
2017 Cross Currents: Intercambio Cultural, Havana, Cuba
2016 Ragdale, Lake Forest, IL
2015 ACRE, Steuben, WI
2014 Center Program, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
Selected Publications
2024 Seven up-and-coming Chicago artists to collect now, Elly Fishman, WBEZ Chicago, IL
2023 Not Just Another Pretty Face 2023, Hyde Park Art Center, Catalogue, Chicago, IL
Making Space, Mark Ballogg, Chicago, IL
2020 Not Just Another Pretty Face 2019, Hyde Park Art Center, Catalogue, Chicago, IL
2017 Emerging Artists Grant, Catalogue, Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York City, NY
Memorials, Rodrigo Lara, 160 Pg. monograph, Editorial Calygramma, Quéretaro, Qro. Méx.
2016 Breakout Artists, Lee Ann Norman, NewCity, Chicago, IL
Mirar hacia ambos lados, Giorgio Lavezzaro, Excelsior, Mexico City, Mex.
2015 Critics’ Picks, Zeenat Nagree, Artforum International
Los monstrous de la xenofóbia, Gerogina Valverde, Contratiempo, Chicago, IL
Mascaras y Artefactos, Rodrigo Lara, 80 pg. catalogue, Editorial Calygramma, Quéretaro, Mex.
5 Shows to see now, No.1 Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, Lee Ann Norman, NewCity, Chicago, IL
2014 Rodrigo Lara, Barro Desmembrado, Federico de la Vega, Revista Cerámica, Madrid, Spain
2013 Memorial de Cuerpos, Rodrigo Lara, Separata Art Magazine, No. 29, Quéretaro, Qro. Méx.
2012 Ceramics Annual of America, Ilena Finocchi, Ceramics Monthly, January 2012 U.S.A.
2010 Masks and Artifacts, Rodrigo Lara. Separata Art Magazine, No. 18, Quéretaro, Qro. Méx.
2008 DRT Artists, Rodrigo Lara. Real State, No. 54. Méx.
2007 Bolts of Emotion, Rodrigo Lara Shapes his World, Rachel Hartman. Senses Magazine, Issue 1 Vol. 4, California
2006 Rodrigo Lara’s Figurative Ceramics, Elizabeth Reichert. Ceramics Art and Perception, Issue 63,
Adelaide, Australia
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA
University of Notre Dame, IN
Cerámica Suro, Guadalajara, Mexico
DePaul Art Museum, Chicago
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, Las Vegas, NV
John Kurtich Scholarship, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexico
Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, IL
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Governors State University, University Park, IL
Latino Art Now Conference, Conversation with Cesareo Moreno and Vincent Valdez, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, IL
Chicago Art Department, Chicago, IL
National Museum of Mexican Art, Conversation with Daniel Quiles, Chicago, IL
Kruger Gallery, Marfa, TX
Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago
Harold Washington College
Chicago Public Library
ChiArts, Chicago
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Department of Ceramics
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan
Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Universidad del Valle de Mexico, Queretaro, Mexico
Selected Visiting Artist/Lectures
Public Collections
Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State University, PA
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
Colección Cerámica Suro, Guadalajara, Mex.
National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
Rogers Foundation, Las Vegas, NV
Centro de las Artes de Querétaro, México
Museo de Arte Moderno del Estado de México
Gobierno del Estado de Querétaro
Fundación DRT, Querétaro, México
Museo Internacional de Arte, Guadalajara, México
Courses and Workshops Attended
2013 Symposium “Caribbean Crossroads” Museo del Barrio/Queens Museum of Art, NYC
2007 “Visual Arts Pruduction” (Jordi Boldó) Art Museum of Querétaro. Querétaro, Méx.
2006 International Mural Encounter, Casa de la Cultura de Coyacán. Mexico City.
2003/2004 Self-Help Graphics- Monoprints, Yollacalli Youth Museum, Chicago, IL
2004 “Figurative Sculpture” (Susan Clinard) Palette and Chisel Academy, Chicago, IL
2003 “Figurative Sculpture” (Omar Vera) Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
2003 “Ceramics and Drawing” (Jason Walker) Lill Street Art Center, Chicago, IL