His vibrant work has earned accolades for its imaginative blend of street art and traditional Indonesian culture, and for its insightful embrace of artistic freedom. In 2013, Louis Vuitton selected Nugroho to design a special edition scarf, the same year he represented Indonesia at the Venice Biennale. Nugroho was born in the major art center of Yogyakarta, Java, where he continues to live and work.

In association with the Asia Society New York, Nugroho created an original work at Shangri La that was shown as part of the inaugural Honolulu Biennial (March 8-May 8, 2017). The site-specific work remained on view at Shangri La through May 8, 2017.