Jr Chuo

JR CHUO (b. 2002) is a British-Portuguese artist based between the United Kingdom and Japan.

Working entirely by hand, CHUO produces intricate compositions that require tens of thousands of individual cuts. His work is defined by technical precision, material restraint, and an engagement with themes of ecological fragility, accumulation, and time.

CHUO works with paper as a system through which he examines how environmental and urban structures are formed, organised, and understood. His practice draws parallels between coral reef ecosystems and metropolitan infrastructures, such as subway networks and architectural grids, approaching both as interconnected networks shaped by rhythm, interdependence, and repetition. Constructed through removal, the work develops through sustained, controlled cutting, where each incision contributes to the integrity of the whole.

His technique is informed by Ise katagami, operating as a methodological framework in which the composition functions as a complete structure.

In 2025, CHUO presented two solo exhibitions, 100 Thousand Cuts of the Knife (London) and System of Escape (Tokyo). His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private collections across Europe, North America, and A...

University of Cambridge, BA Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (2020-2024)
Keio University, MEXT Scholar (2022-2023)

Solo Exhibitions
2025 System of Escape, The Gallery Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan
2025 100 Thousand Cuts of the Knife, The Conduit, London, UK

Selected Exhibitions
2026 Pink Chaos, Prokofiev Studio, London, UK
2026 Hackney Art Week, Hackney, London, UK
2025 System of Escape, The Gallery Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan
2025 100 Thousand Cuts of the Knife, The Conduit, London, UK
2026 Group Exhibition, Whistler Gallery, Suffolk, UK
2024 Imagination Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Group Exhibition, Artspace, Suffolk, UK
2023 Roses and Castles, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2022 Summer Exhibition, Byard Art Gallery, Cambridge, UK
2022 Group Exhibition, BallroomArts, Suffolk, UK
2022 The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi Art, The Truman Brewery, London, UK
2022 Sikka Art and Design Festival, Dubai, UAE
2021 Totally Immersed, The Lab, Adelaide, Australia
2021 Queens’ Presents, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, UK
2021 Tokyo International Art Fair, Belle Salle Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
2021 The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi Art, West Handyside Canopy King’s Cross, London, UK