Larry Louie González (b. 1962, Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican photographer and filmmaker whose creative journey spans more than twenty-five years. His practice, rooted in large-format staged photography, investigates memory, identity, and the blurred space between reality and fiction.
Mentored by Abelardo Morell and Laura McPhee at the Massachusetts College of Art, González laid the foundation for a practice deeply attuned to light, composition, and the poetic possibilities of photography. Upon the completion of his BFA in 1992, González received a grant from the Donis A. Dondis Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts to pursue a year-long documentary project in the Dominican Republic, inspired by the socially conscious style of New Deal photographers such as Jack Delano and Walker Evans. This immersive experience not only deepened his engagement with documentary practice but also propelled his artistic and academic growth, opening new avenues for conceptual exploration. He further refined his vision while earning his MFA at the Yale School of Art, where the cinematic sensibilities of Gregory Crewdson and Philip-Lorca diCorcia left a lasting imprint on his approach to narrative and staged imagery. Drawing further inspiration from American history and literature, alongside his background in cinematography and documentary filmmaking, González has since developed a visual language that seamlessly merges the constructed with the found, creating surreal worlds where myth, memory, and cultural storytelling intersect.
González’s early series Barceló #61 (1996-2004) began as an intimate effort to document his childhood home, his grandmother, and the transforming landscapes of Puerto Rico. What started as a record of personal history soon revealed itself as a turning point—shifting from poetic documentation toward the construction of fictionalized memory. This evolution has since become a defining thread in his practice, culminating in conceptual projects such as El Espacio que Habito (2018), where portraiture and landscape intertwine to probe personal narratives within broader cultural and historical frameworks.
His current project, Sur: A Journey Through Intangible Landscapes, expands his exploration of space, history, and memory into Argentina, where the scars of political and cultural upheaval remain embedded in both people and place. Through staged portraiture and evocative landscapes, Sur reflects on how individual and collective memory intertwine, creating a poetic meditation on identity, place, and cultural resilience.
González lives and teaches in San Francisco, California, while continuing to produce work in Puerto Rico and Argentina. His practice, shaped by transience and return, seeks to construct an intimate visual mythology that resonates across personal and collective histories.
Education
1996 M.F.A. Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
1992 B.F.A. Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA
Awards
2023 NYFA’s JGS Fellowship for Photography Grant
2019 International Lenscape Award for Narrative Photography
2017 CERF Grant
2004 AmeriCorps Grant
1996 Yale University, Travel Grant
1992 Morris Sheer Fellowship, Photography
1992 National Endowment for the Arts, NSF Travel Grant
1992 Mass. College of Art, Honorary Grant
1992 Donis A. Dondis Fellowship, Travel Grant
Selected Individual Exhibitions
“Parallel Realities”: Photographs by Larry Gonzalez - Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA (2023)
"Visions of the Caribbean: Found and Constructed Realities" - Galería de Arte Latinoamericano, Havana, Cuba (2011)
“El Espacio que Habito” – Publica: Espacio Cultural, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2020)
"The Power of Visual Storytelling: Cultural Narratives" - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Lisbon, Portugal (2015)
"Cinematic Visions: Exploring Identity, Time, and Space" - Museo de Fotografía, Madrid, Spain (2007)
"Memorias Fragmentadas: A Journey of Personal Memory and Geography" - Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, Ponce, Puerto Rico (1988)
Selected Group Exhibitions
"Crossing Borders: Latin American Photography Today" - Fotomuseum, Zurich, Switzerland (2022)
"Convergence: Exploring the Cinematic Aesthetic in Photography and Film" - Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain (2013)
"Visions of Nature: Landscape Photography Reimagined" - Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile (1997)
“Tiempo, Espacio y Transformacion” Photographs by Larry Gonzalez/Paintings by Nayda Collazo-Llorenz. Julia De Burgos Cultural Center, New Haven, CT (1995)
Articles & Reviews
“Larry Gonzalez: Night Visions” Author: Alasdair Foster. Magazine: Talking Pictures. Sydney Australia, December 2023
Blurring Boundaries: Larry Gonzalez's Found and Constructed Realities" Author: Laura Hernandez Magazine: Fotografía y Arte City. Madrid, August 2023
"Exploring the Caribbean and South America: Larry Gonzalez's Narrative Photography" Author: Diego Perez Magazine: Arte Caribe City. Havana, Cuba, February 2019
"Building Personal Mythologies: Larry Gonzalez's Conceptual Approach" Author: Paolo Rossi Magazine: ArtScene. Rome, Italy, September 2011
"Reframing the Connection: Larry Gonzalez's Journey through Photography" Author: Ana Morales. Magazine: Fotografía en FocoCity. San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 1997
Documentary & Humanitarian Projects
2014 Dominican Republic 1992-2012, 20 Years of Social Change, Santo Domingo, DR
2013 Contextos, Schools & Literacy, San Salvador, El Salvador
2010 Contextos, Schools & Literacy, San Salvador, El Salvador
2006 Literacy Through Photography, New York City Public Schools, New York, NY
Recent Teaching & Workshops
2023 - Instructor, Santa Fe Workshops. Santa Fe, New Mexico
2022 - Lecturer, El Patio de Raul Cultural Center Workshops. Rosario, Argentina
2018 - Adjunct Professor, College of the Seqouias/Verto Education, San José, Costa Rica
2015 - 2021 Adjunct Professor of Photography and Cinematography, Sacred Heart University, San Juan, PR
2012 - Lecturer, Liceo de Arte, San Juan, PR
2013 Foto-Estudio, "Taller Cinematografico", El Salvador, San Salvador