Leonard Suryajaya

Leonard Suryajaya Visual Artist Based in Chicago

So happy to share my work in Denver. Thank u and for making this happen. Thank u for your work and sharing a conversa...
01/03/2026

So happy to share my work in Denver. Thank u and for making this happen. Thank u for your work and sharing a conversation with me. Happy to reconnect with and . Please check out the show and share!

❤️❤️❤️

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Parting Gift: Fitting in America by Leonard Suryajaya
Curated by Samantha Johnston, Executive Director & Curator, Colorado Photographic Arts Center

February 27 - April 18, 2026

Hi friends, I’d like to invite you to my exhibition opening this Friday at I’m so thankful for in seeing my work and c...
23/02/2026

Hi friends, I’d like to invite you to my exhibition opening this Friday at I’m so thankful for in seeing my work and curating it into this solo exhibition. I’ll be in Denver this weekend. Please stop by if you’re in the area! ❤️

The Colorado Photographic Arts Center (CPAC) presents a solo exhibition featuring nationally acclaimed photographer Leonard Suryajaya, and the debut of his newest body of work, Parting Gift: Fitting in America.

Known for his vibrant, elaborately staged portraits—featured in Aperture and exhibited internationally—Suryajaya has quickly become a standout voice in contemporary photography. Living in the U.S. while his family remains in Indonesia, he uses photography to explore distance, belonging, and who is allowed to be seen as family in America today. The result is a series of bold, emotionally charged images that are playful, layered, and deeply human, inviting viewers into scenes where intimacy, identity, and national myths collide.

On Friday, February 27, the public is invited to attend an Opening Reception with the artist in attendance. An in-person Artist Talk will take place on Saturday, February 28 at 1 pm (free).

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Parting Gift: Fitting in America by Leonard Suryajaya
Curated by Samantha Johnston, Executive Director & Curator, Colorado Photographic Arts Center

February 27 - April 18, 2026

Opening reception: Friday, February 27 (5 - 8 pm)
Artist Talk: Saturday, February 28 (1 pm)

As I approach the last chapter of making my first ever photo book, I keep thinking about how this work has reshaped my u...
15/02/2026

As I approach the last chapter of making my first ever photo book, I keep thinking about how this work has reshaped my understanding of love. Not only romance, but duty, grief, distance, resentment, forgiveness, survival, and the quiet decision to keep showing up for one another across time and oceans. Today I am grateful for all the forms love takes, especially the ones that are not soft, easy, or celebratory. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Two weeks in Germany and Amsterdam, finally wrapped.I took my parents to Europe for the first time. Berlin, Amsterdam, C...
31/01/2026

Two weeks in Germany and Amsterdam, finally wrapped.
I took my parents to Europe for the first time. Berlin, Amsterdam, Cologne, and Frankfurt.

The reason for the trip was to visit my exhibition at the Humboldt Forum in Berlin. The exhibition features them extensively, so seeing it together felt surreal.

This trip held more than I expected.
I traveled to China, made a lot of work, spent time with my aunt, grieved her passing, and paid tribute with family. I ended it all with a winter journey through Europe with my parents.

It was a strange and beautiful experience bringing my tropical Southeast Asian parents into the European cold, learning to move through cities by train.

We ate, laughed, sight-saw, got lost, felt thankful and learned how to be with each other in new ways.

It was beautiful and overwhelming at the same time. We parted ways in Frankfurt.
I’ve been away from Chicago for ten weeks.

I’m so happy to be home.

I’m thrilled to announce I have been selected as an awardee for the 2026-2028 TulsaArtist Fellowship residency!Through D...
27/01/2026

I’m thrilled to announce I have been selected as an awardee for the 2026-2028 Tulsa
Artist Fellowship residency!

Through December 2028, I will join nine other artists working across painting, sculpture,
film, sound, photography, writing and social practice. During my time in Tulsa, I’m looking forward to creating a new body of work inspired and featuring my new friends and community.

, supported by , is a place-based, durational award that
fosters an environment for visionary artists invested in community impact and
innovation. The Fellowship’s vision is rooted in its distinct framework of diverse arts
practitioners and strengthening Tulsa’s arts identity through meaningful and forward-
thinking projects.

Visit tulsaartistfellowship.org to learn more!

23/01/2026

My parents seeing my work in a Berlin museum for the first time 🥹

I’m proud and grateful to be part of this show, and I can’t thank the curators .zi and the museum enough for this beautiful opportunity.

Nothing as Our Ground is open through August 3, 2026 at

Highlight of my year so far: bringing my parents to Germany for the first time in their lives to see an exhibition that ...
23/01/2026

Highlight of my year so far: bringing my parents to Germany for the first time in their lives to see an exhibition that features them so deeply.

I’m proud and grateful to be part of this show, and I can’t thank the curators .zi and the museum enough for trusting me with this moment.

Nothing as Our Ground is open through August 3, 2026 at Humboldt Forum .

My new year’s resolution is to fall ever more deeply into myself. In my ugly, in my beauty, I lean on ones I love. New w...
04/01/2026

My new year’s resolution is to fall ever more deeply into myself.
In my ugly, in my beauty, I lean on ones I love.
New ways, old ways, better days will follow when I hold on to clarity.
Be one with myself, be whole.

Excited for what’s to come and humbled by all I’ve learned

📸: Natural Landing, 2026.

🇨🇳📱📸 dump: As part of my winter art residency working with high school students in my hometown, I traveled to China. Thi...
18/12/2025

🇨🇳📱📸 dump: As part of my winter art residency working with high school students in my hometown, I traveled to China. This was my first time setting foot on the land of my ancestors.

Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization. Learning about the depth and continuity of its history filled me with awe, while also bringing clarity to the ruptures caused by migration, first my grandpa to Indonesia and then by my own move to America. Through this experience, certain things became clearer to me about my place within this spectrum of history and identity, and about what I ought to do with my specificities as an artist and as a mentor to these students.

Being around people at an age when possibilities feel endless and responsibilities have not yet become shackles is deeply refreshing. I am excited to be working with them on a yearbook project, creating photographs that celebrate their transition into adulthood as they prepare to graduate.

In Luoyang 🇨🇳, I am not merely someone who loves reading. I am, quite painfully, a voracious reader. While crossing a br...
13/12/2025

In Luoyang 🇨🇳, I am not merely someone who loves reading. I am, quite painfully, a voracious reader. While crossing a bridge, I find myself thinking, “Hmm, why not pause and read for a while?”

Beyond my literary fanaticism, I am also a noble warrior who knows how to appreciate the finer things in life. I always carry with me a book, a fan, a mask, and a long sword, concealed beneath my flowing hair and robes.

Royal blood does not run through my veins, yet my poetic disposition makes me a highly desirable bachelor. With gentle smiles, my sensitive soul caresses those admirers who look upon me with longing.

Alas, out of honor, I choose a life of chastity, walking alone on the path toward my higher self, until I move to America, where my admirers await with eager anticipation. 😆🥰🤮

Stepping outside of my regular photo programming to celebrate my little cousin’s wedding in Bali. Love u and congrats ...
03/12/2025

Stepping outside of my regular photo programming to celebrate my little cousin’s wedding in Bali.

Love u and congrats

P.S don’t worry I’m not making wedding photography a habit. Just my love language to my family 🙃

My first ever Berlin Museum exhibition! It’s truly a dream to show my work in Berlin. i can’t thank .zi and enough for...
24/11/2025

My first ever Berlin Museum exhibition!
It’s truly a dream to show my work in Berlin. i can’t thank .zi and enough for making this a reality, and I’m honored to be among this company of stellar artists

Nothing As Our Ground
Nov 28 2026 - Aug 3 2027
Humboldt Forum

Curated by Minh Duc Pham and Hai Nam Nguyen

With works by George Demir, Sunil Gupta, Rana Nazzal Hamadeh, Nhu Xuan Hua, Iden Sungyoung Kim, Jaewon Kim, Cheryl Mukherji, Su-Ran Sichling, Leonard Suryajaya, Sarnt Utamachote, and Vuth Lyno

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