I am a Filipino American photographer based in Brooklyn, New York City and a member of Indigenous Photograph. I also run an award winning commercial studio with my wife, Sarah, and our two Siamese-Maine Coon cats, Miko and Oliver.
We continue to photograph for institutions like Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Commissioned by Grammy winning Creative Director, Ron Jaramillo, we've had the honor of photographing three albums for Sony Music Masterworks.
My personal documentary work studies both my inculcation into and resistance against various colonial systems of power. They highlight the tension between my two identities while also studying how historical events shape both society and the self.
Initially exhibited by Curator Patrick Flores at the Jorge B. Vargas Museum in 2012, my series "Urban Legend" was also selected by Curator Clara Kim (Tate Modern, MOCA) for the Gwangju Biennale in 2018.
I am a recent 2022 recipient of Duke University's Archive of Documentary Arts Collections Award and a corresponding exhibition of my work is being shown until April 2023 at their Rubinstein Library Photography Gallery.
For an extended Artist Statement & CV, please scroll down.
Inquiries: info@lsumulong.com
Profile photo: Two generations of Grinnell College alumni - Herbie Hancock and I backstage at the "Celebrating Chick Corea" concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Thank you to Jason Olaine for the snapshot.
Lawrence Sumulong
(b.1987, Secaucus, NJ, USA)
Based in Brooklyn, NY, USA
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
The Brooklyn Museum Library
Duke University - Archive of Documentary Arts
The Museum of Modern Art Library (MoMA)
University of Arkansas - Special Collections
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
On The Journey of Healing | Vogue Philippines
A Proposed State | The Washington Post
No longer can I stay; it's true. | The Washington Post
Dead to Rights | The New York Times
Manila Gothic | Fisheye Magazine
Burying the Lead | The Sydney Morning Herald
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
No Longer Can I Stay; It’s True | Curator: Caitlin Margaret Kelly | Rubenstein Library Photography Gallery - Duke University, North Carolina (2022)
En Foco Resistance for Freedom | Curator: Kay Hickman | Hamilton Landmark Galleries, Manhattan, New York (2022)
Men of Change | Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, United States (2019 - 2023)
Promenades photographiques de Vendôme: Extrême-Orient | Curator: Stephane Damant | Manège Rochambeau, Vendôme, France (2020)
Not Visual Noise | Curator: Angel Velasco Shaw | Ateneo Art Gallery, Manila, Philippines (2019)
Gwangju Biennale | Curator: Clara Kim, Tate Modern | Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall and Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea (2018)
En Foco New Works Photography Fellowship | Curator: Leenda Bonilla | Gulf and Western Gallery, Manhattan, New York (2016)
Head On Photo Festival | aMBUSH Gallery: Project Space, Sydney, Australia (2016)
Traces - Contemporary Filipino Photography | Finale Art File, Manila, Philippines (2015)
From the Prison House | Curator: Tiffany Johnson Bidler | Moreau Center for the Arts - St. Mary's College, Indiana (2013)
Urban Legend | Curator: Patrick Flores | The Jorge B. Vargas Museum & Filipiniana Research Center, Manila, Philippines (2012)
Levee | Smith Gallery, Joe Rosenfield Center, Grinnell College, Iowa (2010)
AWARDS & HONORS
American Photography: AP39 | Winner - Selected (2023)
Archive of Documentary Arts Collection Awards | Winner (2022)
American Photography: AP38 | Winner - Chosen (2022)
American Photography: AP37 | Winner - Chosen (2021)
American Photography: AP35 | Winner - Chosen (2019)
World Press Photo Foundation: Joop Swart Masterclass | Nominee (2017, 2019)
The Magenta Foundation: Flash Forward Award | Winner (2019)
Lucie Foundation: Fine Arts Scholarship | Finalist (2018)
En Foco Fellowship | Winner (2016)
Foundation of Contemporary Arts | Grantee (2016)
The Pollination Project | Grantee - Impact Project Grant (2016)
Lucie Foundation: Emerging Artist Award | Finalist (2016)
Sony World Photography Awards | Finalist (2016)
LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS
Retrograde - Fotomoto 22 "HOME" | Parola: University of the Philippines Fine Arts Gallery, Manila, Philippines (2022)
Imagining Asian Pacific America: Storytelling In Contemporary Literary, Media & Visual Arts | Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (2022)
Art Libraries Society of North America - 50th Annual Conference | Chicago, Illinois (2022)
COLLABORATIONS
Mana Photo x WIP with Simeon Marsalis | Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, New Jersey (2019)
Visiting Author Talk: Simeon Marsalis | Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center, Fashion Institute of Technology, Manhattan, New York (2019)
SITE SPECIFIC COMMISSIONS
BYOPaper! - Rencontres d’Arles | Arles, France (2017)