Contemporary Artist Yuya Saito's Solo Exhibition "Ground Rules" Held at GOCA by Garde in New York

GARDE Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kenji Muro), which provides total services in interior design, consulting, and coordination globally, will hold a solo exhibition titled "Ground Rules" by contemporary artist Yuya Saito at GOCA by Garde, an art gallery operated by GARDE, from July 2, 2026 (Thu) to July 25, 2026 (Sat).

Edge_07, 2026, Curved wood, acrylic, 67 x 47 x 16 inch

GOCA by Garde is GARDE's first overseas art gallery, serving as a base to introduce Japanese and Asian artists to the world, exhibiting a diverse range of works including paintings, sculptures, and ceramics. It aims to be a new hub for cultural dissemination, responsible for globally promoting contemporary art from Japan and Asia.

This exhibition will showcase Saito's representative series "flow-chitecture," which reinterprets skateboard ramps as sculptures, and his new series of sculptures "Park-Scape," themed around public spaces in urban environments.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Saito has developed his unique "bentwood" technique, cultivated through furniture making, to create works that traverse the realms of architecture, sculpture, and design. In this exhibition, he poses universal themes relevant to contemporary society, such as "What is open public space?" and "What is freedom?", using public spaces found in cities like parks and skate ramps as starting points.

For many years, Saito has explored skateboard ramps not merely as recreational equipment but as sculptural motifs symbolizing the urban landscape. While ramps are generally known as structures that are semi-circular slopes for skateboarding, Saito focuses on their form itself, reinterpreting them as symbols of publicness in the contemporary city.

In the fields of art, architecture, and design, ramps have often been viewed as competitive facilities or part of street culture, with their forms and philosophies rarely treated as the subject of artworks. In the United States, however, ramps have a cultural background where people create them themselves, share them within communities, and nurture them as part of public space. Saito focuses on this horizontal and open structure, creating his unique "flow-chitecture" language from the concept of architecture where people share flow, in contrast to the verticality that symbolizes authority and power in high-rise buildings.

For his works, he applies the "bentwood" technique used in furniture making. While utilizing the soft curves of wood, he incorporates landscapes photographed in cities and colors/traces left in urban environments into his works, thereby visualizing the countless memories and time accumulated in the city.

Virtcial_SM_010, 2026, Curved wood, acrylic, 24 x 18 x 6 inchVirtcial_SM_011, 2026, Curved wood, acrylic, 24 x 18 x 6 inch

Exhibition Highlights

"Park-Scape," unveiled for the first time in this exhibition, is a sculptural work themed around the public space of parks.

By combining elements of park facilities such as benches and slides into a single structure, and deliberately removing their original functions of "sitting" and "sliding," the exhibition presents public space not as "tools for use" but as "a void for free interpretation."

Contemporary parks are zoned by purpose, and even people's behavior is designed by the installed facilities. Saito questions this state of managed public space and, through works that stand between architecture and sculpture, proposes new possibilities for publicness and freedom that do not restrict the body or actions.

Park-Scape, 2026, Wood, acrylic, metal, 67 x 47 x 16 inch

Exhibition Overview

Title: Yuya Saito Solo Exhibition "Ground Rules"

Dates: July 2, 2026 (Thu) - July 25, 2026 (Sat)

Address: GOCA by Garde 515 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Admission: Free

Official Website: https://www.goca.gallery/

Artist Profile

Yuya Saito

Born in Japan in 1982. Based in Brooklyn, New York. He creates wall works and three-dimensional sculptures using laminated and curved wood, developing his sculptural language over the past decade from the craftsmanship of bentwood furniture making. He operates Saito Studio in Brooklyn and has exhibited in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and China. "Park-Scape / Escape" will be his first solo exhibition in New York.

Official HP: https://www.yuyas.net/

Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallbiglight/

GOCA by Garde

GOCA by Garde, an art gallery operated by GARDE, is located in the Chelsea district of New York and specializes in contemporary art from Japan and Asia. It aims to be a space that promotes cultural exchange and dialogue by introducing emerging and established artists through paintings, sculptures, and ceramics.

The Chelsea district is known as one of the world's leading centers for art and culture, currently home to approximately 200 galleries exhibiting a wide range of art, from works by renowned artists to experimental pieces by young talents.

In this Chelsea setting, GARDE maximizes its expertise in spatial design and its network of artists to create a place where art lovers can gather and interact. We expect that the new inspiration and possibilities generated by GOCA by Garde will bring positive influence to society through art.

About GARDE

A design consulting firm founded in 1985. It handles spatial design for a wide range of projects, including global luxury shops, hotels, high-end residences, large-scale commercial facilities and department stores, restaurants including food courts, global corporate offices, and sports and entertainment complexes. In addition to the "Design Business" which is the core of its operations, it also operates a "Consulting Business" that handles real estate sales and brokerage, new business planning and development, and support for overseas business expansion, as well as a "Coordination Business" that includes real estate coordination, art support and sales, digital solution development such as the metaverse, and regional revitalization services. In recent years, it has opened and operates art galleries in New York and Minami-Aoyama. It is also engaged in value creation starting from art and international cultural dissemination, expanding its business domain beyond spatial design. Under the banner of providing "Emotional Management Value," it deeply understands the history, philosophy, technology, and vision of client companies, integrates them, and sublimates them into spaces and experiences that combine outstanding design with functionality. In addition to its Tokyo headquarters, it has bases in Milan, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, and other locations worldwide.

GARDE Official HP: https://www.garde-intl.com/

DESIGN MAGAZINE: https://gardedesignmagazine.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garde_world_design/

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