SHOHEI Ochiai Flattens consumer products into Surrealistic Childlike paintings - Hi-Fructose Magazine

Ochiai’s paintings have a dreamlike quality that turns everyday memories into surreal images. Plastic products appear to melt, and squished containers of French fries seem ready to float upward. He paints with strength and attention to detail, using a 4B pencil for lines. Color is built from a mix of paint, markers, and colored pencils. Viewing the work online can feel incomplete because the original pieces have thickness and texture that photographs cannot capture. He makes corrections using paper, sometimes deciding colors directly on the canvas and repeating attempts until the desired line and color combinations are achieved. He also incorporates objects from his surroundings into the paintings.

"“I paint with strength and attention to detail, without cutting corners,” says Ochiai. He uses a 4B pencil for the lines in his work. For color, he relies on a mix of paint, markers, and colored pencils. If you get the feeling that you're missing something by looking at Ochiai's work online instead of in person, it's because you are."

"“I use paper to make corrections, so the original artwork may have some thickness or texture that cannot be captured in photographs,” says Ochiai. “I would love for everyone to see the original artwork!” He elaborates, “I'm a bit lazy, so I decide on the colors directly on the canvas. Since I have specific preferences for lines and colors, it often takes multiple attempts to achieve the desired color combination. That's when I use paper to make corrections on top of the canvas.”"

"There's a dreamlike quality to Ochiai's paintings too, as if memories of the game you coveted or the McDonald's meal you ate have returned in a surreal way, where plastic products look as if they're melting and French fries look as if they are about to float up from a squished, red container."

"In photos posted to Instagram in May 2023, you can see the artist at work on a large canvas. It's a piece intended for the show This Is Ochiai Shohei, which was scheduled to run between late August and late September of 2023 at Yukiko Mizutani, Terada Art Complex in Tokyo. The table in front of Ochiai is loaded with stuff, including paint brushes, a canned drink, and a bright yellow baseball cap that resembles one of the few objects in the painting that has already been filled with color."

Read at Hi-Fructose Magazine - The New Contemporary Art Magazine