"One of my favourite memories from my childhood is that I was sitting underneath the grand piano at home. The sensation of being in that space is something I try to own and therefore reflect in my sculpture.
I get fascinated by how 'space' suddenly emerges and defines itself by having merely two lines or one other thing.
I like the fact that my sculpture is a physical object that you can be in and play with your imagination."

Ayako Saito

Ayako Saito was born in Tokyo. She came to Australia in 2002 and completed an undergraduate degree and Honours in sculpture at the Australian National University, Canberra. In 2008 she received a Master of Visual Art. Her large outdoor sculptures have been exhibited at Sculpture by the Sea Bondi since 2008, appeared at Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe in 2014 and in the Western Sydney University Sculpture Award and Exhibition, Campbelltown, NSW. Her larger works have been exhibited at: Sydney Harbour Sculpture, Sydney; Hillview Sculpture Biennial, Sutton Forrest, NSW; Artisans in the Garden at the Botanic Gardens, Sydney; Sculpture on the Greens, Wyong, NSW and Sculpture at Sawmillers, Sydney.

Since completing her Master of Visual Art, Ayako has gathered an impressive number of awards including the Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorship Program, the Dignam Real Estate Award, the Tetsuya Wakuda Miniature Sculpture Prize, Sell and Parker Steel Sponsorship, the Australian National Univeristy School of Art Emerging Artist Support Scheme-John and Elizabeth Baker Acquisition. Ayako completed a major sculpture commission in 2018, Heaven’s Door for St. Paul’s College, Sydney University which was sponsored by Dr. Andrew Bell. Her works are included in private collections in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Tokyo, Singapore, New Zealand and The United States.