Daisuke Ohba (b. 1981, Shizuoka, Japan) is a Japanese artist whose practice explores the material, perceptual, and conceptual possibilities of painting. Working primarily with large-scale canvases and experimental materials, Ohba investigates how light, surface, and movement shape the viewer’s experience of an image. His works often employ iridescent pigments, holographic paint, and reflective materials that shift in appearance according to changing light conditions and the position of the viewer, transforming painting into a dynamic field of perception.
Ohba’s paintings frequently evoke natural phenomena—mountains, forests, and atmospheric landscapes—yet they resist stable representation. Instead, these motifs emerge through layered textures, subtle tonal variations, and shimmering surfaces that blur the boundary between abstraction and landscape. By allowing light to play an active role in the work, Ohba creates images that appear to change continuously, emphasising the relationship between painting, environment, and the movement of the viewer.
Central to Ohba’s practice is an ongoing investigation into the history of painting and its encounter with contemporary visual technologies. Drawing on both Western traditions of abstraction and Japanese craft techniques that incorporate reflective materials such as gold leaf and mother-of-pearl, he develops works in which colour and light operate as physical elements rather than purely optical effects. Through this synthesis, Ohba reconsiders painting as a spatial and phenomenological experience rather than a fixed image.
Ohba studied painting at Kyoto University of Art and Design, graduating in 2005, before completing an MFA in oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2007. His work has been exhibited widely in Japan and internationally, including presentations at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE and exhibitions in Europe, the Middle East, and across Asia. His paintings are held in several public and private collections, including the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art and the Long Museum.
Through his exploration of light, materiality, and perception, Ohba continues to expand the possibilities of painting, creating works that exist between image, environment, and sensory experience.
