V. Maldonado (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist, freelance curator, educator, and writer who lives and works in Portland, OR. Born in 1976 in Changuitirio, Michoacán, Mexico, Maldonado grew up in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California in a family of migrant field laborers. They received their BFA in Painting and Drawing from the California College of Art (2000), their MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago (2005), and is represented by Froelick Gallery, Portland OR.
Maldonado served at the Pacific Northwest College of Art from 2007 to 2021 as Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, Ombudsman, and Director of Intercultural Engagement, Equity and Inclusion. Currently, they lead Vitamin C, a critique group, as a Guest Artist for the Northwest Art Council at the Portland Art Museum.
Maldonado’s work was most recently included in the group exhibition Many Wests at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. Their work is included in the permanent collections of the Portland Art Museum, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, the Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA, the Museum of Fine Art, Houston, TX, and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR.