Rollence Patugan is an American Photographer based out of Los Angeles, CA. Identity, diversity, and visibility are undercurrents of Rollence’s work. Having originally come from Baldwin Park, CA a small but diverse town in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles, Rollence wants his work to serve the underrepresented. Growing up in the 1980’s as an Asian-American of Chinese and Filipino descent, he did not see a reflection of himself nor his Latino friends in government, sports, entertainment, and the arts. Rollence felt he didn’t exist as an American. In his work, Rollence strives to reflect the ethnic diversity that has always been a part of his experiences and uses his voice through art to allow people to be seen.

“Love art in yourself and not yourself in art.”
– Konstantin Stanislavski

“How Did I Get Here?”

CV

Educator
Cal State Northridge – Professor of Photography, 2021 – Present
Los Angeles Center of Photography – Instructor, 2015 – Present
Santa Monica College – Professor of Photography, 2013 – Present

Curator
Open Show Pasadena/East LA,  Pasadena, CA – 2019 – Present
The Five Elements, Art Share LA, Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA – 2019
ColorPop, Arts District Los Angeles Photo Collective, Los Angeles, CA – 2016
Monochrome-The Black and White Photograph, Arts District Los Angeles Photo Collective, Los Angeles, CA  – 2016
Annual Student Photography Show, Santa Monica College, CA – 2013 – Present

Recognition
Featured Artist – To Live and Cry In LA (publication), 35m Pro Photo Lab, Los Angeles, CA
Collection Acquisition – “Protest in Place” acquired by LA DCA and donated to California African American Museum, 2020
Billboard Creative Artist – The Billboard Creative, 2020
Editor’s Pick – Artillery Magazine Women’s Issue – Printed Mar/Apr 2019
Portrait Runner Up – Month Of Photography LA: Analogue Portrait Project, Aesthesia Studios, Culver City, CA – 2015
Signature Artist Award – Made in California,City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA – 2015
Juror’s Choice Award (Meg Linton-OTIS) – Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA – 2013
Honorable Mention – Black & White: The Absence of Color, MPLS Photo Center, Minneapolis, MN – 2012
Honorable Mention – IPA (International Photo Awards): Fine-Art Portrait – 2012

Affiliations
Pasadena Photography Arts (PPA) – Advisor, 2019 – Present
Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP) – Member, 2015 – Present
Arts District Los Angeles Photo Collective – Board Member, 2015- 2016

Lectures/Talks
The Candid Frame Podcast, Episode 598, Ibarionex Perello
Shining Light On What is Evident, The Good Rascals Podcast, Kevin Del Principe
How Did I Get Here?, Forum, Pasadena Photography Arts, Pasadena, CA
How Did I Get Here?, Career Day, Ramon C. Cortines School of Performing and Visual Arts, Los Angeles, CA
The ShoPow Show, Nerds of Color, Patrick Michael Strange

Group Exhibitions

2024

Conflict: LACP Members Exhibition, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA
Fresh Take Photography Show, The LA Makery Subterra Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Art Dept Faculty Exhibition Part 2, CSUN Galleries, California State University Northridge
All Star Jam-10^th Annual Photography Exhibition, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles

2023

Summer Salon, Art Share LA, Los Angeles
Life Cycles – Los Angeles Center of Photography, Inner City Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Pixel Popcorn 2, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Pasadena ArtNight, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA

2022

CODE ORANGE, Robert Berman Gallery – Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA

2021

California Love Part 2 – A Visual Mixtape, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2020

2020: The Connected World, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA
Protest in Place, SoLA Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
7th Annual LACP Members Exhibition, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA
California Love – A Visual Mixtape, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Billboard Show, The Billboard Creative, Fountain and Highland, Hollywood, CA

2019

Love &/or Fear, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Hollywood, CA
6th Annual LACP Members Exhibition, dnj Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Smashbox Assistants Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Made In California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
Open Show-LA #52, Fabrik Projects Gallery, Culver City, CA
Common Threads II, Art Share LA at Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
Month of Photography LA Projections, Los Angeles Central Public Library, Los Angeles, CA
PhotoPlay, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
StARTup Fair LA, The Kinney Venice Beach, Venice, CA
The Five Elements, Art Share LA at Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA

2018
Perimeter VI, Art Share LA, Los Angeles, CA
Tattoos & Milk, SALAS Studio & Gallery, Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA
Smashbox Assistants Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Summer Salon, Art Share LA, Los Angeles, CA
LACP Faculty, Member, Alumni Show, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Hollywood, CA
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
Open Show Pasadena-East LA #19,  Armory Center for The Arts, Pasadena, CA
Analog vs Digital, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
LA Art Show, LACP Booth – Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA

2017
Smashbox Assistants Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
Naked vs Nude, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Open Show #39, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
Good Bokeh, Dab Art and H Studio + Gallery Ventura, CA
E PLURIBUS UNUM: OUT OF MANY, ONE, Artists Rise Up Los Angeles, El Portal Theatre, North Hollywood, CA

2016
Zoo-Manity, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, CA
Figuratively Speaking, The HUD Gallery, Ventura, CA
ColorPop, ADLA Photo Collective, Los Angeles, CA 
PRO’JEKT LA Instagram Jam, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
MOPLA: Analogue Portrait Project, Aesthesia Studios, Culver City, CA
FASHION: The Union of Art and Fashion, The Studio Door, San Diego, CA
Monochrome-The Black and White Photograph, Arts District Los Angeles Photo Collective, Los Angeles, CA

2015
Smashbox Assistants Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
MOPLA: Analogue Project, Aesthesia Studios, Culver City, CA
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
A One Night Stand, Salon de La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA

2014
Artists for Art’s Sake, Millard Sheets Art Center at Pomona Fairplex, Pomona, CA
Undressed, Juried Online Exhibition (http://linusgallery.com/art-gallery/), Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Exposed: The Contemporary Nude, 1650 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
MOPLA: Analogue Portrait Project, Aesthesia Studios, Culver City, CA
Made In California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
I Shoot People 2, 1538 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

2013
It’s Only Natural, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
The Dialect of Form: Body Language & Photography, Brooks Institute Gallery 27, Santa Barbara, CA
Women, Linus Gallery, Pasadena, CA
Smashbox Photo Assistant Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
Bacon Social, The Factory, Los Angeles, CA
Bite Me, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga, CA

2012
Smashbox Photo Assistant Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Portraiture, ArtExchange, Long Beach, CA
Portrait: Mirror Mirror, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
This Ain’t a Scene, 1650 Gallery Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA
MOPLA+SMASHBOX Group Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Black & White: The Absence of Color, MPLS Photo Center, Minneapolis, MN

2011
Eat Me: The Tasty Art of Food Photography, 1650 Gallery Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA
Smashbox Photo Assistant Show, Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
Visions of Light, Gallery 27, Santa Barbara, CA
Smashbox Faceoff, Smashbox Studios, Boston, MA

2010
Smashbox Faceoff, Smashbox Studios, West Hollywood, CA
31st SMC Annual Spring Photography Show, Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA