Edel Rodriguez

Edel Rodriguez is a Cuban American artist and faculty member at Western Connecticut State University's School of Visual, Performing, and Communication Arts. Born in Havana in 1971, he immigrated to the U.S. during the Mariel boatlift and settled in Miami, where his exposure to American pop culture began influencing his bold, figurative works.

• Education: BFA from Pratt Institute (1994), MFA from Hunter College (1998)

His research and artistic practice explores themes of identity, cultural displacement, mortality, politics, and religion, informed by his personal history and duality of Cuban heritage and American experience.

Edel has received numerous accolades, including awards from the Art Directors Club and The Society of Illustrators in NYC, and was recognized by Ad Age as one of the '50 Most Creative People of the Year 2016'.

• Guest Lecturer at institutions such as the School of Visual Arts (2000), Pratt Institute (2005), Parsons The New School (2003, 2005), and more