Cha Jongrye

Pontone Gallery introduces an ensemble show for 2025, featuring a roster of international and home-grown talent, whose practices range across painting, works on paper and sculpture. These artists share a...

The Korean artist Cha Jongrye invites viewers to experience the extraordinary depth and complexity that wood attains in her seamlessly intricate wall-mounted sculptures.

Her approach transcends the material's inherent qualities, awakening it to new life. Through her intentionally unintentional creative process - her intuitive discovery of images in the fluidity of arranging and rearranging the uniquely hand-shaped blocks - the wood evolves into a living, ever-changing organism.

The interplay of light and shadow, combined with shifting surface textures, creates the illusion of constant movement. Her sculptures appear to breathe, pulse, and follow their own internal rhythm, blurring the lines between the artist's intent, the wood's intrinsic nature, and the universal principles common in all forms.

Beyond mere representations, Cha Jongrye's sculptures express a profound connection between artist and material. Guided by intuition and the wood's inherent properties, she creates works that are both organic and abstract. Through her strong connection to the craft technique of traditional makers, Cha Jongrye is able to demonstrate the limitless potential of her chosen material and of nature itself. Her sculptures reflect the cyclical nature of life, its infinite possibilities, and its eternal essence.

Korean artist, Cha Jongrye, studied sculpture at Ehwa Women’s University, graduating with a BA and MA in 1996. She has accumulated an extensive curriculum vitae of solo and group exhibitions...

Pontone Gallery is delighted to exhibit works by acclaimed Korean artist Cha Jongrye. Exhibited worldwide, this solo show will be Cha's first with Pontone Gallery, presenting an exciting showcase of her innovative sculpture.