Pema Kongpo

Artist Statement

My name is Pema, and I am a Tibetan-American artist. I was born in Nepal, and immigrated to the US as a child. In 2013, I graduated cum laude from Rutgers University with a degree in biomedical engineering and double major in sociology. After, I worked in education and software, where I was an award-winning product manager.

In June of 2023, I started sculpting, and it changed my life. Since then, I have been pursuing sculpture full-time. I study the figure daily as a monitor at the Art Students League of NY. My work has won “Best in Show” and “Honorable Mention” at the annual student salons. And in 2024, I won the McDowell Travel Grant, the largest grant available to students of sculpture.

In June of 2025, I participated in The Richard McDermitt Miller Competition held by The National Sculpture Society, and I came in 2nd place. In the same month, I began a one-year fellowship at the Academy of Art with Greg Wyatt. Later on in November, I won the Fantasy Fountain Fund for the Arts Grant.

In my practice, I focus on deepening my understanding of form, developing my skills, and raising the artist in me. I sculpt every day, and every day I sculpt is a good day.