GOCA (Gallery of Contemporary Art) by Garde is a new gallery dedicated to showcasing Japanese and Asian contemporary art, located in a 2,400-square-foot space in New York’s vibrant Chelsea district. As the first gallery of its kind in the city, GOCA introduces US and international audiences to both emerging and established artists from Japan and across Asia, presenting works spanning painting, sculpture, and ceramics.
Launched in 2025, GOCA was created to elevate global awareness of some of Japan and Asia’s most compelling artistic voices. The gallery not only highlights these visionary talents through its carefully curated exhibitions but also serves as a hub for cultural exchange, fostering meaningful interactions and dialogue between artists and audiences.
GOCA is the latest initiative from GARDE, a Japan-based creative interior design firm known for its contributions to architecture, design, and the visual arts. With a commitment to enriching the world through creativity, GARDE has envisioned GOCA as a space where art can transcend boundaries and connect cultures.
Garde is an international architecture and design firm based in Tokyo with offices around the world servicing retail, residential, hospitality, F&B, entertainment, and commercial sectors. In 2024, Garde had its sights set on opening a contemporary art gallery in New York City that would showcase work by Japanese and Asian artists that would be called GOCA by Garde. GOCA had extensive expertise selecting artwork for their projects, but the architecture and design firm had never opened a gallery in a US market before.
To ensure a successful 2025 launch, GOCA needed a team of experts with deep relationships in the art world and proven expertise in public relations and cutting edge marketing strategies. GOCA selected A&O PR to act as its trusted business advisors and art consultants to develop the gallery’s brand strategy, identify its target audiences, provide curatorial direction, and advise on marketing and PR approaches. A&O PR was brought on for tactical PR implementation for the gallery’s fall 2025 program, leading into its one year anniversary and exhibition featuring the Shinohara family.
To help Garde successfully launch GOCA by Garde in the competitive New York market, A&O PR stepped in as a strategic partner early in the process, serving not only as a public relations agency but also as trusted business advisors and art consultants. A&O PR worked closely with GOCA to refine the gallery’s brand positioning, define key audience segments including collectors, curators, art media, and culturally engaged New Yorkers, and shape curatorial narratives that would resonate with both U.S. and international art media.
A&O PR crafted a tailored marketing PR strategy that integrated traditional media relations with digital storytelling, media planning and paid advertising, social engagement strategies, and targeted outreach to influential writers and editors. A&O PR also provided hands-on support for tactical execution around GOCA’s fall/winter 2025-2026 programming, positioning the gallery’s exhibitions including the build-up to its one-year anniversary show featuring the Shinohara family as must-see cultural events on New York’s contemporary art calendar.
The partnership delivered measurable impact across awareness and engagement metrics. A&O PR secured 19 high-quality press placements for GOCA by Garde’s fall 2025 programming, generating an estimated 522,000 total views and access to 112 million in combined audience reach across online, offline, and social media outlets. Coverage appeared on influential art platforms such as Artforum’s Artguide, as well as major event platforms like YRB, helping the gallery gain visibility among both art professionals and the broader public. The media mix achieved strong engagement, with extensive social interactions, amplifying the gallery’s credibility and cultural positioning.
In addition to press traction, the advisory and curatorial support from A&O PR helped GOCA by Garde define a compelling narrative for its artists, mission, and exhibitions that elevated the gallery’s Japanese and Asian contemporary art program in an international context. This strategic grounding supported audience growth and contributed to a cohesive brand voice across channels, establishing the gallery as a distinctive presence in Chelsea’s vibrant art scene and setting the stage for continued programmatic success leading into its anniversary year.
