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.
“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.”
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. [In this show title the artist’s name is in its native order, rather than Western name order. —Eds.] 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. It looks like he might be painting in reference to the scene in the photograph’s forefront, but that’s not totally accurate. “The table is just messy, but there are several objects, like hats, incorporated into the painting… haha,” he responds.
Ochiai says that “childhood aspirations” are his main point of reference. “During my early childhood, my parents didn’t buy me many things, so I often draw things that I admired back then,” he explains. “This includes game consoles, toys, and so on.”
I TRIED VARIOUS THINGS LIKE BEING A COMEDIAN, BUT BEING A PAINTER FELT THE MOST NATURAL AND FITTING FOR ME.”