Aryo Toh Djojo

Aryo Toh Djojo (b. 1984, Los Angeles, CA), lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

That’s ahr-ee-oh toe-jo-yoh, as the artist cheekily addressed the Indonesian phonetics of his name on his 2016 Ed Ruscha inspired business card. Since 2020, Toh Djojo fell deep into the rabbit hole of Ufology - i.e. the investigation of UFOs - and became specifically interested in the manner in which religions and belief systems, such as Christianity and Buddhism, were influenced by extraterrestrial beings. As he began his new spiritual journey, Toh Djojo began painting a series of loose, figurative paintings sourced from internet images and Southern California scenes. Painted with a light and dreamy airbrushed acrylic, Aryo Toh Djojo’s work depicts his lived Californian experience, punctuated by the occasional UFO. Recurring throughout the works are distant stars, or perhaps alien life come to visit. Toh Djojo uses this unfamiliar presence to unsettle and disquiet the beauty of his constructed world. The glimmering points of light through the exhibition remind the viewer of the imperfect nature of perception. Experience is something to behold, to treasure, and to release. Like finding the lost thread of a narrative, Toh Djojo encourages experiential looking and searching.

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Aryo Toh Djojo completed his BFA at the Art Center College of Design of Pasadena, CA. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally in solo exhibitions with Stems Gallery, Brussels, BE; Sow & Tailer, Los Angeles, CA; Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Public Land, Sacramento, CA; Weekend Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Recent group exhibitions include Stems Gallery, Brussels, BE; Carl Kostyál, Stockholm, SE; WOAW Gallery, Hong Kong, CN; Sow & Tailer, Los Angeles, CA; Library Street Collective & Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY; Spazio Amanita, New York, NY; Liebaerts Projects, Brussels, BE; Anthony Gallery, Chicago, IL; Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY; 929 Broadway Studios, New York, NY; among others.