Angel Rafael “Ralph” Vázquez-Concepción, (b. 1981, Puerto Rico) visual artist, independent curator, and teacher librarian based in San Francisco, California. My multimedia work oscillates between conceptual and experimental practices, abstract painting, and the design of exhibitions.
My current work draws on the history of nuclear technology and the history of the study of radiation. Also, my aesthetics draws from the history of punk and the canon of science fiction. My visual work finds deep inspiration in the nuanced, layered nature of the debate surrounding the future of human energy production, and the legacy of the atomic age.
In 2015, I obtained a Master’s in curatorial practice from the California College of the Arts. In Puerto Rico, I have curated or participated in exhibitions at the Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, the Puerto Rico Museum of Art, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, and ÁREA: Space for Projects, in Caguas, Puerto Rico. In San Francisco and Oakland, California, I have contributed exhibitions to the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, Minnesota Street Project, CTRL + SHFT Collective, the Red Poppy Art House, Adobe Books Backroom Gallery, and the GLBT History Museum, ProArts, and the San Francisco Art Institute.
In 2018 I obtained a degree in secondary education in history and social studies at San Francisco State University. Currently, I am pursuing a second M.A. in library sciences at San Jose State University. I currently work as a public school teacher-librarian in San Francisco.
For scheduling a studio visit (if in San Francisco or virtually), or inquiries about exhibiting or purchasing work, email me at ralph.vazquez@gmail.com or leave me a comment below.
Education
2017-2018 – Credential, Secondary Education, History and Social Science, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California
2013-2015 – M.A. in Curatorial Practice, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California
1999-2005 – B.A. in Secondary Education, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Select Exhibitions
entreFORMAS, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, March-August 2021
The Tallest Part of the Arch, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, California, February 2019
Out/Look: The Birth of Queer, GLBT History Museum, San Francisco, California, October-December 2017
En nuestra angelitud/In our angelhood, La Puerta Amarilla, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 2017
Noche de Ambiente, GLBT History Museum, San Francisco, California, October 2016 to March 2017
Alma Mater: 2016 Alumni Exhibition, California College of the Arts, Hubbell Street Galleries, San Francisco, California, November 2016
Correspondencia/Correspondence, group exhibition designer, CTRL+SHFT Collective, Oakland, California, June 2016
AMALGAMATION: A Project About Systems, Networks, and Communities, Red Poppy Art House, San Francisco, CA, Summer 2012
Select Talks and Lectures
More Than 700 Years: A conversation between curator Ángel Rafael Vázquez-Concepción and SFAI Faculty Members, San Francisco Art Institute, California, August 29, 2019
Unearthing Queer Latinidad, by Á.R. Vázquez-Concepción and Juliana Delgado Lopera, Sonoma State University, Sonoma, California, April 10, 2017
The Stuff of Trouble I and II, Contemporary Art and Necropolitics, by Á.R. Vázquez-Concepción, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, California, October 5 and 19, 2016
Select Curation
More Than 700 Years: 2019 San Francisco Art Institute Faculty Exhibition, curator, Fort Mason and 800 Chestnut SFAI Campus, June 2019
Time Machine: Recent work by Lauren Marie Taylor, curator, Pro Arts, Oakland, California, November 2018
Retrovisor: Recent work by Mónica Félix, curator, Open Studio Project at Paseo Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 2017
Bestiario/Menagerie, group exhibition, curator, Adobe Books Backroom Gallery, San Francisco, California, January 2017
Conspiracy: Recent works by Hasmik Aga-Sarkisian, Heather Murphy, Aaron David Kissman, Ben Quinn, and Sebastian Alvarez, co-curator, 2291 3rd St., Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, California, February—March 2016
Meditation on the Impacts of War: Exhibition on the Work of Berkeley-based Artist Ehren Tool, co-curator, 2291 3rd St., Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, California, January—February 2016
Real Time & Space: A Group Exhibition, co-curator, 2291 3rd St., Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, California, November—December 2015
Artificial Geologies: Recent works by Malena López-Maggi, Mark Johnsen, and We Live in Paradise, co-curator, 2291 3rd St., Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, California, October—November 2015
Martin Wong: Painting is Forbidden, co-curator, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, California, Spring 2015
Regional Junior League Series Vol. I, II, III, group exhibitions, co-curator, Museo del Arsenal de la Puntilla, co-curator, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 2010
Machinic Diagrams: Recent Works by artist Javier Román, curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Spring 2010
Ángel Rafael Vázquez-Concepción 