Photo courtesy of Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, 2024

Biography

Ryan Frigillana was born in Iligan City, Philippines, and immigrated with his family to Long Island, New York, in the early 1990s, where he continues to reside. His photographic work, in the form of books and installations, explores intergenerational themes of grief, myth, and spirituality through a diasporic and allegorical lens. Drawing from his religious and acculturated upbringing, he engages with popular media, family histories, and biblical material to contemplate photography as equal parts evidence, faith, and prayer. He currently works on projects between Long Island and Southaven, Mississippi.

Frigillana’s publications are held in the library collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Morgan Library and Museum, Getty Research Institute, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston among others. Select awards include the Penumbra Foundation Risograph Print & Publication Residency (2021), the JGS Fellowship for Photography (2021, 2025), the En Foco Photography Fellowship (2023), the Aperture & Google Creator Labs Photo Fund (2023), the Penumbra Workspace Program (2024), and the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Photography (2025).

Contact

Email: rfphoto@ryanfrigillana.com

Instagram: @frigggy

CV (PDF)

Recent Press / Features

NYSCA / NYFA Artist Fellowship in Photography

Baltimore Beat, “What They Left Us” exhibition review

Houston Center for Photography, Pandemic Made

Portland Monthly, “Manong” exhibition review

Blue Sky Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, Manong

Penumbra Foundation Workspace Program

PhMuseum, 2024 Photography Grant