Artist CV
sunnyleeras.com | sunnyleeras@gmail.com
b. Bangkok, Thailand. Living and working in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Education
2019 MA in Arts Administration, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
2016 BFA in Film, Photography & Visual Arts, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2024 “This is as far as I can take you”, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY
2023 “Naturalization”, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
2019 “Carry Me Home”, Myers Gallery at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
2017 “Towards Tenderness” a two-person exhibition with David Lurvey, Lubov (Projects), New York, NY
Group Exhibitions & Screenings
2021 “In Practice: You may go, but this will bring you back”, SculptureCenter, Long Island City, NY
2020 “Travel”, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow, Scotland
2020 Untitled Screening at Ayi Ayi x Uklon Event, (Pop-up space), Brooklyn, NY
2019 “On Reverse Commuting”, (Pop-up gallery), Brooklyn, NY
2018 “The Feeling Is Mutual”, Local Project Gallery, Long Island City, NY
2016 “Tell Us Where: Senior Exhibition Selected Work”, Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca, NY
2016 “Cinema Thesis Screening & Exhibition”, Roy H. Park School at Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
2015 “Luncheon Special: Photography Exhibition”, (Pop-up gallery), Ithaca, NY
2015 “Substrate: Experimental Film Screening”, (Pop-up gallery), Ithaca, NY
Awards and Residencies
2024 Artists Alliance Inc. LES Studio Program Residency, New York, NY
2023 Image Text Workshop, Artist-in-Residence, Ithaca, NY
2023 Center for Book Arts, Book Artist-in-Residence, New York, NY
2022 Fire Island Artist Residency, Artist-in-Residence, Fire Island, NY
2021 Queens Council on the Arts New Work Grant, Queens, NY
2019 Teachers College grant to attend the National Arts Education Association Conference, Boston, MA
2018 Rehearsal Residency, Artist-in-Residence, Amagansett, NY
2017 Columbia University Teachers College Scholarship, New York, NY
2016 Outstanding Senior Award in Film, Photography, and Visual Arts, Ithaca College, NY
2015 James B. Pendleton Production Grant for Photography, Ithaca College, NY
Publications (Print & Digital)
2024 Homes Against Tides V2 Risograph Edition (Work in progress)
2023 Offerings (Work in progress)
2021 “Magnetic” in digital publication the ee! Issue One. Artist Joshua Escobar writes a poem in response to the photobook Homes Against Tides (Featured Work)
2021 Chinatown Futures 2: Rituals/ Remembrance zine co-created with Jennifer Jin and Isabel Ling
2021 We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World by Jasmin
Hernandez, published by Abrams Books. (Principal Photographer of 45+ portraits, studio, and artwork photography published in book)
2020 Mom’s Magnets, Self-published risograph print book
2020 Chinatown Futures zine co-created with Jennifer Jin and Isabel Ling
2020 i carrot about u: community cookbook by Fathom Library (Featured Work)
2018 Homes Against Tides, Self-published photobook
2017 From Maine, With Love, Self-published photobook
2015 I Wish I Didn’t Have to Go Home, Self-published photobook
2015 Zero Hour Zine Issue 2: Identity, Irony, Machismo (Featured Work)
2013 Dandelion Violent, Self-published digital zine, Creator and Editor
Book Fairs/ Collection
2022 Publication Mom’s Magnets included in the collection of Asia Art Archive in America (Brooklyn, NY)
2021 Publication Mom’s Magnets included in the collection of Fathom Library (Providence, RI)
2020 Publication Mom’s Magnets featured at Bangkok Art Book Fair (Bangkok, Thailand)
2019 Publication Homes Against Tides included in the collection of Fathom Library (Providence, RI)
Presentations/ Talks
2024 “Contain Yourself” Artist Performance Lecture at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY
2024 “TL;DR” Discussion with Dr. Jill H. Casid at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
2023 “DREDGE/ CHOP/ CATCH/ GROW” Presentation with Daniel Pravit Fethke at Urban Soils Institute at Governors Island, NY
2023 “Lesbian Narratives of Cherry Grove” by FIAR’s Fire Island Histories Project at Candice Madey Gallery, New York, NY. Presented with Ksenia D. Soboleva and AK Burns.
2022 “Let’s Talk About Photo Books” Panel at Soho Photo Gallery, New York, NY. Presented with Erica Reade, Cindy Trinh, Emily Sanchez, Nancy Scherl, and Melissa Breyer.
2022 Fire Island Artist Residency: Artist Talk, Cherry Grove Community House, Fire Island, NY
2022 Queer | Art’s Digital Book & Print Fair Show ‘N’ Tell (Virtual)
2021 Asian American Arts Alliance’s Town Hall: Presentation about Chinatown Futures (Virtual)
Select Press/ Bibliography
2024 “Sunny Leerasanthanah” Interview and Feature, TAGTAGTAG
2024 “Sunny Leerasanthanah” Interview Feature, The Here And There Collective
2023 “New Work at John Michael Kohler Arts Center Explores Xenophobia Through Lens of Invasive
Species”, Shepherd Express, October 11, 2023
2022 “Artist Awards Roundup”, ARTNews, July 14, 2022
2021 “Your Concise New York Art Guide for April 2021”, Hyperallergic, April 6, 2021
2021 “Jasmin Hernandez’s Debut Book Celebrates Diversity in the Art World”, Sotheby’s, March 29, 2021
2021 “In Practice: You may go but this will bring you back”, TheGuide.Art, March 26, 2021
2021 “See Inside a Beautiful New Coffee-Table Book Celebrating 50 Leading Artists and Curators of
Color”, Artnet, Feb 26, 2021
2021 “We Are Advocating for Us: A New Book Centers BIPOC Artists and Educators”, Hyperallergic, Feb 1, 2021
2021 “We Are Here - A New Book Celebrates a Diverse Art World”, Widewalls, Jan 28, 2021
2021 “Game-Changing Artists and Curators of Color Showcased in New Book”, ARTNews, Feb 2, 2021
2018 Emergency Index: An Annual Document of Performance Practice Vol. 8, May 2021
Writing
2019 “An Artist's Mission to Preserve New York City's History of Lesbian Nightlife”: An Interview with
Artist Gwen Shockey. (Hyperallergic, August 27, 2019)
Installation photos above by Etienne Frossard
sunnyleeras@gmail.com
About
Sunny Leerasanthanah (b. Bangkok, Thailand) observes how notions of time, place, identity, loss, and affinity are embodied, especially via slippage, repetition, liminality, and limitations. Past and ongoing works include prompting strangers to roleplay and hold conversation in character; inviting people to express the collective imaginary on various topics through sketching and speech; examining narratives around immigration within the context of U.S. invasive species policy; documenting sand patterns created by foraging crabs; mining and rearranging archival video footage; binding perishable paper; and studying iconography in souvenir fridge magnets.
Sunny works expansively across moving images, photographs, installation, performance, books, and prints. They are a recipient of the Artists Alliance Inc. LES Studio Program (2024), Center for Book Arts Residency (2023), Image Text Workshop Residency (2023), Fire Island Artist Residency (2022), Queens Council on the Arts New Work Grant (2021), Rehearsal Residency (2018), and Ithaca College’s James B. Pendleton Grant (2015). They have exhibited at Smack Mellon (NY), John Michael Kohler Arts Center (WI), SculptureCenter (NY), Lubov (Projects) (NY), Local Project Art Space (NY), and Handwerker Gallery (NY), among other spaces. They have spoken on panels at Candice Madey Gallery (NY), Soho Photo Gallery (NY), and more.
Sunny received an MA from Teachers College at Columbia University, and a BFA from Ithaca College. Alongside their primary artistic practice, they enjoy creating photographic portraits. They currently live in Brooklyn, New York.
In their commission photography work, they have published 40+ portraits of American artists and art world figures in the book We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World by Jasmin Hernandez (2021). They are an Up Next Member with Diversify Photo.
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In conjunction with their solo exhibition in Gallery Two, This is as far as I can take you, Smack Mellon presents a performance-driven presentation by the artist, Sunny Leerasanthanah. As a performance, Contain Yourself narrates the process of creating a live and living archive while interweaving stories linked to the themes and contents of the exhibition. Using storytelling, projected images, time, text, and documentation, Sunny meanders through topics including accidental archiving, amateur camcording, fixations on ghosts, and how to convince the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of an urgent event.
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Published by The Provocation Collection
https://www.theprovocationcollection.com/provocations/sticky-note-sketches
Description via The Provocation Collection:
I first tasked my friends to each draw a horse on an individual 3 x 3 inch sticky note. Eyes closed, we stuck our sketches to the closet door in no particular order. Then as a group we observed the collection. Some insights were immediate and some appeared the longer we stared. All horses but one were drawn facing left. All were full-bodied except one, a horse head. Curiosity around the collective imaginary of the horse generated discussion.
I prompted this exercise again in a different context with more people when I attended Cornell University’s Image Text Workshop as an artist-in-residence in 2023. This time I invited people to draw a bridge. A wide range of interpretations appeared. Simple curved lines. Triangular bridges. Bricked bridges. Bridges across bodies of water. I found myself drawn to grouping types and finding order within the larger collection.
The simple sticky note is ideal as material because it is accessible, uniform, and portable. Its disposable, everyday use also invites quick bursts of creativity without intimidation.
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Observe and discuss connections and associations in a themed collection of images.
Invitation
- With a group of people, think of a subject matter. You can propose a subject to the group or decide on one together. Start this exercise with something tangible and simple rather than abstract. Some examples: a container, a meal for two, a fire, shelter, hair.
- Individually, without consulting with one another’s thoughts or ideas, draw your interpretation of the subject on your single sticky note. If possible, everyone should use the same type of pen or pencil to maintain uniformity across material.
- Once everyone completes their sketches, present the sticky notes as an anonymous grouping. This exercise is not focused on who made what drawing. Rather, it is an opportunity to observe and discuss connections and associations from viewing a themed collection of images.
- Take time to look at the sticky notes. Share observations, ask questions, and follow the conversation freely. The observations will likely start from looking at form, like similarities and differences, and that’s a great place to begin.
- After sharing insights on form, expand the conversation. Touch on process, including the process of imagining, and the process of sketching. Transition into reflection. Speak to potential feelings sketches may evoke, and reasonings behind why.
“Naturalization” solo exhibition by Sunny Leerasanthanah at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Curated by Tanya Gayer
July 29, 2023 – January 28, 2024
︎ Link to JMKAC website
Installation Images
Artwork Details
“Certain Aliens” (2023)
HD video, color, sound; duration 42 min
Cast: Hugo Gallo, x senn-yuen rance, Cherrie Yu
Directing: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Video and Sound Editing: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Videography: Sorn Bunnag
Set Design: Sophie Porter-Hyatt
Sound: Cy Kim
Lighting: Lindsay Vanderpool
Production Assistants: Josephine Heston and Lucas Reif
Movers: Joel Trejos and Thomas Truong
Captions and Titles: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Additional Sound and Foley: Chosic, Josephine Heston, Sunny Leerasanthanah
Props and Furniture: Materials for the Arts and Remix Market NYC
Commissoned by John Michael Kohler Arts Center
"Naturalization" (2023) by Sunny Leerasanthanah
HD video, color, sound; duration 14 min
Video and Video Editing: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Sound and Sound Editing: Cy Kim
Sound Credits:
Field recordings by Sunny Leerasanthanah
Studio recordings by Cy Kim and Sunny Leerasanthanah
Additional audio by the National Park Service Sound Library
Texts sourced from government and news media sources.
Comissioned by John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Partially produced while in residence at Fire Island Artist Residency 2022
Work in progress (2023-ongoing)
Binding Qing Ming joss paper sourced from Bangkok, Thailand.
We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World (2021) by Jasmin Hernandez; Published by Abrams Books
Principal Photography (45+ artist portraits, and studio and art work photography) by Sunny Leerasanthanah
Purchase at Abrams Books ︎
Mom’s Magnets
Mom’s Magnets
2020
Self-published risograph book
5.85 x 8.25 in
Printed by Witti Studio, Bangkok, Thailand
Featured at Bangkok Art Book Fair 2020
Edition of 100
︎︎~ LAST FEW COPIES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE !~
email sunnyleeras@gmail.com
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2020
Self-published risograph book
5.85 x 8.25 in
Printed by Witti Studio, Bangkok, Thailand
Featured at Bangkok Art Book Fair 2020
Edition of 100
︎︎~ LAST FEW COPIES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE !~
email sunnyleeras@gmail.com
Photo courtesy Miriam Gallery
PURCHASE IN USA
︎︎︎ Printed Matter online + Chelsea location ︎
︎︎︎ Miriam Gallery online + gallery ︎
︎︎︎ Citizen Editions online ︎
PURCHASE IN THAILAND
︎︎︎ Happening Shop online + Bangkok Arts and Culture Center location + Dadfa La Salle location ︎
Description: Mom’s Magnets is Leerasanthanah’s typological documentation of her mother’s collection of magnets from worldly destinations. The souvenir magnet is exemplary of reducing culture, place, people, heritage, and politics to commodified kitsch. Patterns reveal the homogenous representations of marketable icons. Playful juxtapositions force a relationship between two seemingly unrelated symbols, like the Egyptian hieroglyph tablet and Britain’s telephone booth. Ultimately, the book contemplates the attempt to embody and possess place and time—a subject that resonates with Leerasanthanah’s past work.
PHOTOBOOK
Homes Against Tides
2018
Self-published photobook
Saddle-stitched, color laser print on matte paper
8.25 x 10.75 in
Edition of 10
Description: The photobook features a series of images taken in the south of Thailand, studying the delicate patterns produced by Indo-Pacific sand bubbler crabs as they dig for food and discard sand in mesmerizing patterns. The book dwells on the persistent, Sisyphean cycle of the crabs, whose evidence of a day’s work is washed away at high tide daily.
WRITING
An Interview with Artist Gwen Shockey for Hyperallergic (2019)
︎ Link to article
VIDEO INSTALLATIONS & FILM
This is as far as I can take you
2023
(Description coming soon)
Certain Aliens
2023
(Description coming soon)
Currently exhibiting at John Michael Kohler Arts Center
July 29, 2023 - Feb 18, 2024
︎ Exhibition text
42 min, HD color video
Cast: Hugo Gallo, x senn-yuen rance, Cherrie Yu
Directing: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Video and Sound Editing: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Videography: Sorn Bunnag
Set Design: Sophie Porter-Hyatt Sound:
Cy Kim Lighting: Lindsay Vanderpool
Production Assistants: Josephine Heston and Lucas Reif
Movers: Joel Trejos and Thomas Truong
Commissioned by John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Naturalization
2022-2023
(Description coming soon)
Currently exhibiting at John Michael Kohler Arts Center
July 29, 2023 - Feb 18, 2024
︎ Exhibition text
14 min HD color video
Video: Sunny Leerasanthanah
Sound: Cy Kim
Commissioned by John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Wuthichai (Exit Interview)
2021
48 min Two-channel HD video installation with mixed media including watch, journals, video camcorder and tape, medicine bag, pills, pill splitter, incentive spirometer, wallet, ID cards, glasses and case, shoes, shirts, pants, shorts, hangers. Dimensions variable.
Commissioned by SculptureCenter; exhibited at SculptureCenter’s 2021 In Practice show, You may go, but this will bring you back.
Awarded the 2021 Queens Council on the Arts’ New Work Grant.
INSTALLATION EXCERPT: vimeo.com/535311796
SCULPTURECENTER EXHIBITION CATALOG: Link to PDF
Description: Thai-speaking actors, who were casted via online community forums for Thai immigrants in New York City, role-play and improvise dialogue as Sunny’s deceased father.
Strange Fear & Ecstasy
2016
Video installation, 5:22 min on loop
Footage credit: Cellphone video clips of drag performer Aaron Thornton (Vanilla Diamond) at Virginia Beach in 2015;
Archival footage by filmmaker Nelson Sullivan (1948-1989).
INSTALLATION PREVIEW: vimeo.com/225476297
Surface Tension
2015Video installation on loop
INSTALLATION PREVIEW: vimeo.com/154914664
183 Dreams
2013
Short film, 3:32 min, 16mm black and white film
Ladybird
2013
Short film, 4 min, HD video
Co-Written and Co-Directed by Sunny Leerasanthanah and Sydney Kovar. Originally screened at Ithaca College, New York
FAMILY ARCHIVE
Images from the 1970s from my aunt’s collection
At the end of the school year, my aunt and her friends gave each other professional headshots for safekeeping.
BANGKOK 2019 – 2020
CAMBODIA 2019 – 2020
NEW YORK in Black & White
Ithaca, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan
