Łukasz Leja : The Intimacy Artist
Łukasz Leja is a New York–based painter whose work centers queer intimacy, the figure, and the quiet poetry of everyday life. A 2022 winner of the Tom of Finland Foundation's Emerging Artist Competition, he came to painting by way of architecture — a background that still shapes the way he builds a canvas. We caught up with him about Fire Island Pines, alter egos, and where his practice is headed next.
HOLD - What is something you're currently obsessing over right now?
ŁUKASZ - I’ve always been into queer art history. For the last year, I’ve been diving into Fire Island Pines through that lens, looking at artists who were inspired by it or created work there, and digging through archival material, books, and DVDs on the subject. It’s all kind of hard to find, often out of print, and pricey, but that’s what makes it feel like my little obsession. It led me to Wakefield Poole, his story and films, and now I’ve been tracking down DVDs of his work, since most of it isn’t available on streaming. It made me really appreciate the importance of preserving queer physical media and making it more accessible.
H - You have switched from architect to artist, fields that intimately involve human interaction - how does that influence how you view community?
Ł - I love both figurative painting and architecture, and I approach them in similar ways. When I start a painting, I treat the canvas almost like a technical drawing - I sketch out the composition with pencil, measure distances, and make sure everything feels structurally and visually right before I even touch oil paint.I believe both fields, at their core, are about people and placing human experience at the center. They involve analyzing our behaviors, desires, thoughts, and needs, and translating them into canvases or blueprints, which are then either exhibited or built in the physical world.Depicting people’s lives, representing them, and designing for their needs is a form of care to me. Both painting and architecture have helped me connect with others and encouraged me to be more open, to live without shame or taboo. Through that shared curiosity and expression, I’ve found my community and spaces where I feel safe, accepted and seen.
H - Your paintings are about intimacy and nudity, how does that influence your own personal style?
Ł - I’m really drawn to depicting the beauty of queer relationships, ones that have been censored and underrepresented for so long. I find a lot of inspiration in the poetry of everyday life and intimate moments, and for me, nudity isn’t provocative. It makes painting the human form feel more honest and meaningful than painting clothing. That perspective directly influences my personal style. I’m very minimal and quite basic when it comes to clothing in my daily life. I still wear things from high school, hand-me-downs, or pieces left behind by friends and exes, and most of it ends up covered in paint anyway, so I’m not very attached to it.At the same time, I love dressing up for an occasion and experimenting with upcycling, as well as sculptural and conceptual fashion. I enjoy looking at designs and fashion books, and I see fashion as a very powerful art form.
H - You won the Tom of Finland Foundation's Emerging Artist Competition in 2022 - do you carry that kink-forward style into the real world or are those themes sacred just for art's sake? How does it present itself in real life if it does?
Ł - My initial interest in kink came from a psychological perspective, how it shapes us, where it comes from, why something resonates with one person and not another, and why it is so often tied to shame. That curiosity led me to think about kink not just as an aesthetic, but as something deeply human and emotional. In my work, I want to show that behind kinky or leather aesthetics are real people - sensitive, funny, intelligent, and caring. The Tom of Finland Foundation has recognized the importance of kink and erotic arts and built a community that is incredibly special and meaningful. They create space to learn, explore, and educate, while also uplifting many emerging artists.For me personally, kink is more than just how someone appears, what they wear, or the aesthetics around it, although I’m aware it can help people find like-minded communities. Since I’m quite introverted, I don’t express much through clothing in my daily life. Instead, it shows up in more internal ways and in meaningful, playful moments.
H - You're a pretty chill individual, do you have any alter egos that supply you with different super powers that help in parts of your life?
Ł - Haha, yes, I’m pretty chill! ;-) I used to have one! I remember being in middle school and first learning what an alter ego is, the idea inspired me so much that I very quickly started to imagine a “better me.” He had a name, a way of being, and certain “superpowers.” I was deeply reliant on him, and having him around gave me the courage to leave my hometown, move abroad, express myself, pursue art, and start a life in New York. He stayed with me for roughly a decade, and eventually I realized his characteristics had slowly become my own, as I had grown into the person my younger self needed me to be. Through him, I developed confidence and resilience, but since what I want now is different from what I wanted ten years ago, we simply grew apart, let each other go. But maybe I should reach out again and see what’s new with him :)
H - What's the next era for Lukasz Leja?
Ł - Hmm, the next era feels like a return to spatial form. I’ve been missing spatial thinking and design, and lately I’ve been thinking a lot about sculpture. I have so many compositions sketched out that feel like they would be better understood in three dimensions rather than as paintings, and at some point I think I’ll have to explore that more seriously.I’m also very inspired by the history and meaning of public outdoor spaces within queer communities, how they’ve functioned as places of connection, intimacy, and expression, especially in times when privacy was limited or not safe and had to exist in public. That idea of space as both shelter and exposure really interests me, so I’d love to eventually expand it into installation work, or even more architectural work. Wish me luck :)
