Kaj O’Connell (b.2000) is a photographer from Berkeley, CA. He studied Philosophy at UC Santa Cruz and now attends NYU as he pursues an MFA in Studio Art.
“My aim is sincerity. I prefer to photograph the land I know and the people I live amongst. There is a kind of knowing, loving, thinking, and remembering that only happens in still photographs. What can we say to each other in this silent language? I want to be fluent.”
- Kaj O’Connell
Education
B.A. in Philosophy, UC Santa Cruz, 2024
M.F.A. in Studio Art, NYU, ~2027
Interviews
One Month Two Cameras, 2023 (view here)
Ted Forbes, 2023 (book review - view here)
Abbey Roads Studio, 2023, MPA’s Photographer Spotlight (view here)
Nominations and Awards
Nomination for Abbey Road Studios 2023 Music Photography Awards ‘In The Studio’ Category (view here)
Jack Goodman Scholarship - NYU, 2026
Books
NEST. - 2022 - SOLD OUT
An American Cloud, May, 2023 - SOLD OUT
An American Cloud, Second Edition, Jan, 2024 (view here)
Iron Lung, upcoming, 2026
Publications
Phi Magazine - The Power issue, 2023
Phi Magazine - The Silence issue, 2023 (view here)
Chinquapin Literary Magazine, 2023
An American Cloud - Self Published, 2023
Phi Magazine - The Nostalgia issue, 2024
Phi Magazine - The Vision issue, 2024 (cover)
An American Cloud, Second Edition, - Self Published, 2024
BOM Magazine, Issue 4, 5, & 6, 2024-2025
Exhibitions and Galleries
Phi Magazine - The Power issue gallery, 2023
Phi Magazine - The Silence issue gallery, 2023
Praxis Gallery - Minneapolis, MN - Shadow Aspect, 2023 | Honorable Mention by jury (view here)
Entropy Pop-Up Show - Paris, France - Short Film: “Hoarse”, 2023 (view here)
Nominated for Abbey Road Studios 2023 Music Photography Awards, exhibited at Now Pop One in London (view here)
Space Place Gallery - Solo Exhibition - Tagil, Russia, 2023
Phi Magazine - The Nostalgia issue gallery, 2024
BOM Magazine - Group Show - Los Angeles, CA, 2025
PLUTO - NYU MFA First Year Show - 80WSE, New York , New York