Neochess x Gorey & Sara Rayo: Strategy Meets Art

At the intersection of game, design, and contemporary art, Neochess reimagines the traditional chess set as a platform for creative collaboration. Moving beyond function, each edition becomes a collectible object where strategy is not only played, but visually experienced through art.

Neochess invites artists to reinterpret the board, the pieces, and the narrative of the game itself, transforming a timeless format into a canvas for storytelling, identity, and visual experimentation.

Sara Rayo: Geometry, Structure, and Spatial Depth

The Chaturanga Chessboard, created in partnership with Sara Rayo and Neochess, explores repetition, symmetry, and geometric structure through the language of the chessboard. Conceived as a constructed object rather than a flat surface, this limited edition of 20 transforms the board into an artwork.

Solid black planes alternate with recessed sections holding folded compositions derived from Rayo’s work, introducing depth, shadow, and shifting perspectives. The result invites movement and close observation, turning the act of play into a spatial and visual experience.

The set balances expressive form with functional clarity, translating Rayo’s geometric and spiritual visual language into a sculptural, playable object.

Edward Gorey: A Theatrical Approach to the Game

The Edward Gorey Chess Collection, created in collaboration with Neochess and The Edward Gorey Trust, translates Gorey’s distinctive visual language into a series of chessboards that explore narrative, pattern, and materiality. Drawing from the archive, illustrations, textures, and characters are arranged across the chess grid, allowing each square to function as both an individual composition and part of a cohesive whole.

The White Marble Character Chessboard, inspired by The West Wing (1963), brings Gorey’s wordless storytelling into a structured playing surface, where selected characters and scenes unfold within the discipline of the grid.

The Black Patterned Chessboard shifts focus toward Gorey’s visual vocabulary, assembling fabric-like motifs and graphic textures into a layered composition that invites repeated viewing and discovery.

Expanding into a more sculptural dimension, the Bronze Marble Chessboard introduces hand-cast bronze pieces inspired by Gorey’s characters. Paired with a marble board, this edition emphasizes weight, permanence, and material presence, transforming illustration into collectible, three-dimensional form.

Across all editions, Neochess’s classic black-and-white wooden pieces provide a restrained counterpoint, allowing the narrative depth, atmosphere, and theatrical quality of Gorey’s world to remain at the forefront.