CHOI RYE

Choi Rye applies pigment to a round wooden block, presses it onto paper, waits for it to dry, and presses again. This process is repeated dozens of times to complete a single circle, with the amount of water, drying speed, and sequence of overlapping impressions producing a different depth and color each time. The distinctive grain of the woodblock and the layered accumulation of pigment remain on the surface as traces of this repetition.

Beginning with figurative compositions centered on the human form, Choi Rye’s work expanded into compositions filled with countless dots before gradually condensing into one or two circles. The circles seen today are the compressed result of this process of repetition and layering.

The compositions encountered in the exhibition are filled with complete circles, truncated circles, and circles overlapping at varying densities. Areas where dark color has built up in layers sit alongside areas where the pigment barely grazed the surface, within a single composition. The space between circles is also part of the composition — where a form disappears, empty space emerges, and within that space, another circle appears. Viewed up close, the wood grain and layered pigment become clearly visible; the minute variations that arise through repeated pressing give each work a different surface and depth.

For Choi Rye, a circle is never a fixed, finished form. Each time the process of pressing, drying, and pressing again is repeated, the color, density, and depth of the surface shift — earlier traces are covered by the next layer, remaining only as a slightly altered presence. The exhibition title, 空의 色 (The Color of Emptiness), refers to this quality of change and non-fixedness.

Choi Rye holds a PhD in Art Studies from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), China. Her work is held in the collections of the CAFA Art Museum and the Yichun Art Museum, and she has continuously participated in major Korean art fairs including Kiaf SEOUL, Galleries Art Fair, Art Busan, and BAMA.