Mari Hernandez (born 1979) is a photographer known for her self-portraits that reflect Chicana cultural identity. She is a co-founder of Más Rudas, a Chicana artist collective. She has had works exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Artpace, and the Galveston Art Center.^[1][2]

Mari Hernandez was born in San Antonio, Texas. Hernandez began exploring her own art aesthetic after visiting murals at the San Antonio Cultural Arts Center. Her husband is J.J. Lopez.^[1] She received her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio.^[3][1]

Hernandez is one of the co-founders of the group, Más Rudas (2009 - 2015).^[1] Mas Rudas is a group of four Chicana feminist artists: Mari Hernandez, Ruth Leonela Buentello, Sarah Castillo, and Kristin Gamez. The artists aim to represent their life experiences as Chicana women through art, videos, photography and installation.^[4]

She received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Emerging Artist Grant in 2017 as well as a National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Fund for the Arts grant.^[5][6][1] In 2020, her piece Silia was one of the 42 works selected from a nationwide open call for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and was on display at the National Portrait Gallery.^[1]

• What Remains is a photo series created in 2018 that depicts the connection between one's physiognomy and identity.^[7]
• As Julia Pastrana, is a photo series inspired by the life of Julia Pastrana. This photo series was created in 2013.^[8]
• El Lenguaje, a triptych created in 2021, is about language's impact on cultural identity.^[9]

• Official website
• Joan Mitchell Foundation | Mari Hernandez