Yuki Matsueda – “5 of Spades”

In “5 of Spades,” renowned Japanese artist Yuki Matsueda continues his signature exploration of dimensional rupture—taking a flat, familiar object and literally breaking its boundaries. Set inside a richly detailed antique-style frame, the gold-toned playing card appears to deform under pressure, with one of the spade symbols bursting outward through the vacuum-formed acrylic overlay.

This miniaturised yet visually impactful artwork invites the viewer to reconsider ordinary iconography. The materiality of the spade symbol contrasts with the glossy, controlled backdrop, conveying themes of escape, disruption, and the illusion of control within games of chance.

Artist Insight

Yuki Matsueda’s practice revolves around transforming two-dimensional symbols into three-dimensional expressions. By combining industrial production techniques with conceptual finesse, his work challenges the viewer’s expectation of flatness, repetition, and permanence.

This piece embodies his philosophy: taking mass-produced imagery and injecting it with depth, tension, and movement.

Symbolic Themes

• Resistance against conformity

• Breaking the fourth wall of perception

• The chaos beneath structured games

• Tension between flat media and sculptural truth

Care Instructions

• Use only a dry, soft microfiber cloth for surface cleaning

• Avoid direct sunlight or fluorescent exposure to preserve pigment

• Do not use commercial glass or acrylic cleaners

• Display in low-traffic zones to avoid accidental impact

Compact, refined, and intellectually sharp, “5 of Spades” is ideal for collectors of contemporary art, miniature sculpture, or conceptual pop artefacts. It serves equally well as a standalone jewel-piece or as part of a larger Matsueda dimensional card series.