About / CV
Misael Hernandez is a photographer from Springfield, Oregon. His work utilizes documentary, sculpture, and archive approaches to decipher the culture, religion, and identity of his Mexican heritage and Northwestern American upbringing. These two cultures and the landscapes of the West have had tremendous impacts on his character and artistic practice. He now combines handmade adobe brick, sculpture, and historically sourced images to construct photographic works that refer to his sense of identity and its relation to a deep photographic time and cross-cultural shared experiences.
Hernandez received his MFA and was a graduate instructor in photography at the University at Buffalo (2023-2025). He attained his BA from the University of Oregon (2021). He has exhibited in Oregon and New York, including Blue Sky Gallery, the Center for Exploratory & Perceptual Arts (CEPA), University at Buffalo Art Galleries, and C.R.E.A.T.E Community Studios. Selected awards include the Career Opportunity Grant awarded by the Oregon Arts Commission, the Film Photo Award Student Project Award, the SUNY Thayer Fellowship, and the Generator Grant, administered by The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation. Hernandez has participated in residencies at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (fall 2025) and Anderson Ranch (spring 2026).
CV
Education
MFA – Studio Art, University at Buffalo
Bachelor of Arts in Art and Technology, University of Oregon
Teaching Experience
2023-2025 Instructor of Record, Introduction to Photography, University at Buffalo
Work Experience
2025 – present Print and Production Manager, FASTSIGNS, Eugene, OR
2023 – 2025 Photo Lab Monitor, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2023 – 2025 Gallery Installer, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2021 – 2023 Assistant to photographer and educator Jason Langer, Portland, OR
Selected Exhibitions
2027 Misael Hernandez, Scalehouse Gallery, Bend, Oregon (forthcoming)
2026 Sitka Art Invitational, Oregon Contemporary, Portland, Oregon (forthcoming)
2026 Pacific Northwest Drawers, Blue Sky, Portland, Oregon
2025 Art of Research – Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York
2025 Frontera de carácter – CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York (solo)
2024 Printmakers Showcase – C.R.E.A.T.E Community Studios, Troy, New York
2024 Big Orbit Members Show – CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York
2024 Symbiosis – CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York
2024 Placeholder – University at Buffalo Center for the Arts Gallery, Buffalo, New York
2023 Clashing Fragments – Project Space, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
2023 Incoming MFA Showcase – Project Space, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
2022 Hay Más Tiempo Que Vida – Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Eugene, Oregon
2022 No Borders – LaVerne Krause Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
2021 Collectively Bound – LaVerne Krause Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
Residencies
2026 Finalist, Penumbra Work Space Artist in Residence
2026 Anderson Ranch AIR, Snowmass Village, Colorado
2025 Center for Photography at Woodstock AIR, Kingston, New York
Selected Funds and Awards
2026 Honorable mention, Innovator Grant, Innovator Artist Grants
2026 Career opportunity Grant, Oregon Arts Commission
2025 Student Prize: Top 25 to Watch (2025), LENSCRATCH
2025 Student Project Award, Film Photo Award
2025 Art of Research Winner, Cultural Insights and Interpretations, The Graduate School, University at Buffalo
2025 Thayer Fellowship recipient, The State University New York System (SUNY)
2025 Frances R. And Louis B. Morrison Memorial Scholarship Fund, University at Buffalo, SUNY
2025 Generator Fund: Kinetic Grant, The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Lectures and Talks
2025 Meet the Artist Lecture, Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW), Kingston, New York
2025 Artist Talk, Frontera de carácter, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York
2025 Thayer Day, Thayer Fellowship Finalist Presentation, New York
Misael Hernandez 