Leica Gallery New York Unveils Homeland, a Powerful Photographic Meditation on Belonging by Maria Guțu
Memory, identity, and the quiet weight of home take center stage this winter as Leica Camera presents Homeland, a solo exhibition by Maria Guțu, winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer Award 2024. Opening January 15 at Leica Gallery New York, the exhibition will be on view through February 15, 2026.
Fresh from its acclaimed debut at Leica Gallery Boston, Homeland arrives in New York with quiet intensity. Shot between 2019 and 2023, the series traces Guțu’s personal return to her rural Moldovan roots, documenting landscapes, rituals, and everyday moments shaped by migration, memory, and socio-economic change. The result is a body of work that feels deeply intimate yet universally resonant.
“Exhibiting in New York carries a particular significance,” Guțu shares. “It’s a city where creative voices from around the world collide and redefine contemporary visual culture. Bringing Homeland here feels like both a milestone and a conversation.”
Guțu’s images move between tenderness and realism. Children wander through open fields, men play traditional music, and empty rural spaces speak of absence as much as presence. Nostalgia is never romanticized; instead, it is gently questioned. What happens to a place when so many leave? What does belonging mean when home is both loved and limiting?
“The Republic of Moldova is my home, beautiful, complex, and full of contradictions,” Guțu explains. “This work is my way of reconciling love for its people and landscapes with the frustrations of its realities. Homeland is both a tribute and an open question.”
Awarded the 2024 LOBA Newcomer Award, Guțu joins a lineage of emerging photographers recognized for illuminating the relationship between humanity and its environment. Her work aligns seamlessly with Leica’s long-standing cultural mission: to champion authentic visual storytelling and amplify voices shaping the future of documentary photography.
Through Homeland, Leica Gallery New York continues its commitment to fostering global perspectives and supporting emerging talent. The exhibition underscores photography’s unique power to document, reflect, and connect, reminding viewers that some of the most compelling stories unfold far from the spotlight.
For Guțu, showing in New York marks an evolution. “This city has been shaped by photographers who look deeply into the emotional and human condition. Presenting Homeland here allows the work to breathe in a new context, one defined by diversity, intensity, and openness.”
Exhibition Details
Homeland by Maria Guțu
January 15 – February 15, 2026
Leica Gallery New York
406 W 13th St., New York, NY 10014
Monday–Saturday 10:00–18:00
Sunday 12:00–17:00
A quiet, powerful exhibition that proves some of the most urgent stories begin at home.