LEYLA CUI
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About
“My work explores the fragile intersections of memory, identity, and femininity through a surrealist lens.” – Bold Journey Interview
Leyla Cui (2002) is an award-winning illustrator, artist, and writer based in New York City. She draws upon literary, philosophical, and psychoanalytic references to construct visual narratives that oscillate between vulnerability and strength, intimacy and distance, fantasy and reality. See more on Artsy.
Her recent projects include Between Dreamscapes (solo, Temple Gallery, NYC, 2024), which examined the instability of memory and the dream state, and Switchboard (SVA Chelsea Gallery, 2025). She was selected for the NYC Subway Public Art Initiative (Visionary Projects, 2024), bringing her exploration of intimacy and identity into the public sphere.
Her recognition includes the BIBF International Illustration Awards Longlist (2025), iJungle Global Illustration Competition—Self-Promotion Merit (2025) and New Talent Merit (2023), and finalist in the Booooooom Illustration Awards (Dec 2024, top 200 of 7,000). Her work and interviews have appeared in Artsy, Art To Hearts, Divide, Suboart, Artsin Square, and Bold Journey; see her submission on Booooooom. At 17, she published I Was Meant to Meet You While Wandering (Beijing Arts and Crafts Publishing House, 2020), a collection of nearly 200 poems with paintings and illustrations, marking the beginning of her exploration into the intersections of word, image, and emotion.
Education:
2022-2023 Studio Art (BFA) at New York University
2023-2026 illustration (BA) at the School of the Visual Arts, expected to graduate in 2026
Awards and Publications:
2025 Creative Quarterly 80
Student Runner -up
BIBF International Illustration Awards
Longlisted Illustrator
Bold Journey Magazine
Individual Artist Interview
iJungle Global Illustration Competition
Self-promotion Merit Award
2024 Artsy article report
Solo Exhibition, Temple Gallery, NYC
Booooooom Illustration Awards
Selected as one of the 200 finalist winners among over 7,000 participants
NYC Subway Public Art Initiative, Visionary Projects
Selected as one of 15 artists from hundreds to display artwork across NYC subway station dioramas
Chosen winner for 101 Art Book: Portrait Edition
Emerging Woman Artsist Award shortlist winner
Divide Magazine
Selected artist with an interview on the creative process
ArtsinSquare Magazine
Chosen winner for Issue 7 publication among global artists
Suboart Magazine
Chosen winner from 400 global artists, November Issue
2023 iJungle Global Illustration Competition
New Talent Merit Award
2020 Individual Poetry Collection, I Am Meant to Meet You While Wandering
Published by Beijing Arts and Crafts Publishing House, China
Selected Exhibitions:
2025 January - Feburary, Switchboard, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York City
2024 December, Desire-Body Without Organs, A Space Gallery, New York City
November-December, Betweemn Dreamscapes, Temple Gallery, New York City
November-December, Beyond Boudaries, Artsinsquare, Virtual Exhibition
June-August, The Imaginary Made Real, Berry Campbell Gallery, Chelsea, New York City
2023 July-August, A Happy Beginning, LATITUDE Gallery, New York City
July-Aug, Genesis: A New Generation of Chinese Artists, Chambers Fine Art Gallery, Salt Point, NY
February, Resonance, Barney Gallery with New York University, New York
2021 May-June, Metamorphosis, HongTang Culture Communication Gallery, Shanghai, China
2019 September-October, Holding hands, The Space Gallery, Shanghai, China
Published Individual Poetry Collection, Beijing Arts and Crafts Publishing House, 2020
Translated Poetry Selections, Postcard Edition