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Abel Rodriguez is a Queer Xicano artist and educator who was born in Fairfield, CA, in 1979. He received an MFA degree in Painting from Yale School of Art in 2010, and a BFA in Drawing and Painting, and in Graphic Design from California State University, Long Beach in 2007. He was a recipient of the Shack15 Art Prize in 2025 and participated in the Artist-in-Residence Program at Recology, San Francisco, in 2011. He co-owns El Comalito Collective in Vallejo, CA, whose mission is to create networks that build support and foster opportunities for marginalized voices. Abel has exhibited internationally and currently works and resides in Vallejo, CA.