If the past year and a half—with its horrific global pandemic—hasn’t sharpened the view of art as a vehicle for a respite from the banality of life, then not much else will. This fact is one reason museums, the collection of sensory experiences from lives lived, are so important. And although renowned institutions such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art have drawn crowds since reopening, newer spaces are sprouting just outside of the city too.

One of the most exciting has to be the Kino Saito. This newly opened space (which is roughly an hour and a half by train from Grand Central station) is dedicated to the Japanese-born artist Kikuo Saito (1939–2016). After moving to the U.S. in 1966, the 27-year-old Saito immersed himself in the New York City art scene. “At first, he took on whatever job came his way to get by in the city,” says Joshua Cohen, who’s on the board of directors for the museum and family friend of the late artist. “[He] used his carpentry skills to build out SoHo by converting old warehouse and factories into the galleries, studios, and lofts. So in a very important way, [Kikuo] played a role in physically building the SoHo we recognize today.”

Although it’s true the artist became an abstract painter, it’s important to note he was also a successful avant-garde theater designer too. In others, these two qualities might often be seen as mutually exclusive. Yet, both qualities are present—however subtly—in Saito’s best work. This distinction is necessary to understand Saito’s vision, as much it involves the movement and choreography absorbed from his time building set designs. 

Saito’s English comprehension was perfect, but the act of speaking in this new tongue wasn’t something that came easy. These anxieties bled onto the canvas, as the artist would create universal symbols next to illegible scribbles on the canvas, therefore offering viewers a picture into a mind that was not entirely comfortable expressing himself with language. The result is a catalog of work that is not only moving, but absorbing. In any given painting, viewers will find purples of a healing bruise, clouds of dark gray that appear poised to drop heavy rain at any moment, or Twombly-like lines that command our attention.

In 2013, Saito and his partner, Mikiko Ino, were looking for a new space for the artist to work in. As if capturing the zeitgeist of a pandemic-crazed world that was still some six years in the future, the couple looked upstate to purchase a property on the banks of the Hudson river, in the charming hamlet of Verplanck. The building they selected was formerly the Saint Patrick’s Catholic School, which first opened in 1891. Since the 1960s, however, the space had been mainly derelict, and locals were afraid the building would eventually be demolished. But once Saito and Ino took over the property, its fate was secured. 

After Saito’s death in 2016, it took several years for the nonprofits board to figure how the space should be used and presented. Luckily for the public, they renovated it into a fine museum, along with an artist-in-residency program which will see two artists at any given time living on the premises for a span of six weeks. And although Saito’s dream-like work will always be present in the museum wings of the building, other artists will have the opportunity to present their work too. 

Though the building is now there to house art, the board went at length to ensure its origin story remained intact. “We have a room that still contains the original chairs from when this building was a school,” explains Beth Venn, executive director of Kino Saito. “And when our visitors want to take a seat in other rooms as they take in the artwork on the wall, they can use a bench made of the wood from the original cross on the wall of the catholic school.”

“Kikuo always had time for younger creatives,” says Sarah Strauss, architect and founder of the Brooklyn firm XS Architect. “And that’s why it was so important for this to be a place where other artists could come to work and share their work to the public.” Strauss was responsible for renovating the century-old school into a 21st-century space that could outfit valuable art. The project was extremely personal for the architect, as she was an intern for Saito in the late 1990s, while Saito himself was an artist-in-residence at Duke University. “In fact, it was Kikuo who told me I should pursue architecture instead of art,” Strauss says and laughs. “You know, Kikuo didn’t have any children. He was always there for me. So this is my way of paying him back. And I think that’s the case for almost everyone involved in this space. Kikuo had that warmth and gravity that we still find ourselves coming back to him so many years later.”