East Boston Artist Garrett Gould Unveils ‘Shoreleave’ at Historic Boston Harbor Shipyard
The larger-than-life twin sculptures inspired by local maritime history and coastal ecology mark Gould’s debut public art installation
Shoreleave 1:12 scale model, basswood, douglass fir, paint, artist hardware. 9” x 5” x 1”
Boston (July 09, 2026) – East Boston-based sculptor and educator Garrett Gould will debut Shoreleave at the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston opening on Saturday July 18, presented through the Boston Public Art Triennial (The Triennial)’s Public Art Accelerator.
Gould’s inaugural public art exhibit, Shoreleave invites visitors to experience East Boston’s working waterfront through a bold fusion of maritime infrastructure and native shorebird ecosystems. The two 5-foot tall, 9-foot long identical carved larger-than-life sculptures merge the anatomy of the American Oystercatcher, a shorebird native to the Massachusetts coast, with the silhouette of a lapstrake clamp, a tool historically used in wooden shipbuilding in marinas and shipyards.
Crafted from Douglas fir—a wood commonly used to build piers, docks, and other marine infrastructure in the United States—and finished with environmentally conscious, water-based materials, the sculptures reference the physical and ecological landscape of Boston’s waterfront throughout its design. The vibrant coloration draws inspiration from the American Oystercatcher, a bird species that serves as an indicator of a balanced tidal ecosystem, while the enlarged form transforms both bird and tool into monumental objects worthy of attention.
The project reflects broader themes of adaptation and recovery, mirroring both the resurgence of native shorebird populations along the Massachusetts coastline and the evolving role of working waterfronts in urban life.
“My work has always been interested in the ways man-made objects and natural forms can overlap, and with Shoreleave, I wanted to bring that relationship into a place where people encounter it in their everyday lives,” said Gould. “Living in East Boston, I’m constantly reminded how much history, ecology and activity are layered into this waterfront. My hope is that the scale and color of the sculptures make people pause, look more closely at their surroundings and reconsider the routes and places they may pass by every day.”
Set within the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina, one of the city’s oldest continuously operating full shipyards, the installation reflects a site shaped by both industrial history and environmental change. Once home to the Simpson Drydock and later a major hub for naval shipbuilding, the shipyard today exists as a shared industrial and public space where maritime activity and recreation coexist.
Gould lives in East Boston where his sculptural practice is based. His work frequently draws connections between craft traditions and contemporary life. He works as a project manager at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston Watershed and as a professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and University of Massachusetts Boston.
Gould created Shoreleave with support and funding of the Triennial’s Public Art Accelerator, of which Gould was a part of the eighth cohort.
“The Public Art Accelerator is designed to support artists in bringing ambitious public art into the places where people live, work and move through the city every day,” said Jasper Sanchez, assistant curator at Boston Public Art Triennial. “Garrett’s vision for Shoreleave invites people to pause in the middle of a familiar routine and experience the site in a new way that felt deeply aligned with that mission. It is exactly the kind of daily encounter we hope public art can create: accessible, surprising and rooted in the neighborhoods that shape Boston.”
Shoreleave will be on view from July 18 through November 13, 2026, at the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina, with a public opening reception on Saturday, July 18 from 5-8pm at Downeast Cider Garden, 256 Marginal Street East Boston, MA.
The installation is accessible daily from dawn to dusk. Community programs to activate the site will include a guided bird walk in collaboration with local partners Friends of Belle Isle Marsh later this fall.
To learn more about Shoreleave and Gould visit: https://www.garrett-gould.com/
For more about the Triennial’s Public Art Accelerator and to stay updated on upcoming programs visit: https://www.thetriennial.org/
ABOUT GARRETT GOULD
Garrett Gould is a sculptor and educator working in Boston, MA. Through the process of carving he makes wooden sculptures that are simultaneously “like and unlike itself” by subverting the functions we assign and sensations we experience with objects, people, and other living things from our daily lives. Recent exhibitions include “Wild Bunch” at Atlanta Contemporary, in Atlanta GA, and Future Craft at Gallery 263, in Cambridge MA, and was the recipient of a resident fellowship at Vermont Studio Center. His solo exhibition, “Decoy Spread” will be on view at the Hammock Gallery in Provincetown, MA July 24th through August 16th. He currently teaches at MassArt.
ABOUT BOSTON PUBLIC ART TRIENNIAL
Boston Public Art Triennial is the city’s first and only public art organization dedicated to supporting artists and communities in bold, contemporary, public art. The Triennial’s mission is to foster relationships between artists and the public to create bold public art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston, resulting in a more open, equitable, and vibrant city. For a map of the Triennial sites, please click here.
