Interview
Mei Shibata
Mei Shibata is an award-winning artist whose vivid exploration of color and perception reflects her diverse life experiences and professional expertise. Born in Tokyo, Mei was influenced by Japan's rich cultural and artistic tapestry before her academic pursuits took her to Boston and a successful professional career in New York. With a history of leading creative and strategy teams at top NYC advertising agencies, and having launched and grown her own, Mei’s paintings are poster-like in their initial impact and joy that they bring, and yet also foster deeper connection to the soul that art is able to do. In addition, Mei’s academic background in physics and medicine informs her appreciation of how the brain interprets hues, light and depth, rendering her art both intellectually intriguing and aesthetically captivating. Mei’s goal in art is to create paintings that are appealing to the eye and always enjoyable to look at but can also provoke deeper thought and reflection when the viewer wants them to, i.e. pieces that are timeless and grows with the viewer as they go through life’s journey. Professionally, Mei has won numerous creative and design awards in categories ranging from branding and storytelling to fine arts. Mei’s inspiration to become a painter was in high school, when she won first place in the National Peace Poster Competition, and reprints of her painting was sold at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Most often, Mei uses acrylic paints on a square canvas in her art studios in the U.S. and Japan.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born in Japan and grew up in a multicultural environment, attending school with students from all over the world. In addition, Japan has a rich cultural and artistic tradition, so that influenced me a lot as well. In that environment, I always enjoyed art and conveying messages through art, and won many (10+) poster competitions growing up. My biggest a-ha moment was in high school, when I won first place in the National Peace Poster Competition, and reprints of her painting was sold at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. My air-brushed painting was of a boy holding a big blue balloon that had the continents drawn on it, and he is depicted running away from a pointy nuclear warhead headed straight to the balloon. In that moment, I knew that I wanted to continue telling stories through art and use visual mediums to connect people and emotions. I then moved to the US and studied physics and medicine at Harvard, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I pursued a career in healthcare and later energy, which spanned nearly 30 years, much of it on the services side providing marketing and consulting services to clients. In addition, I became a repeat entrepreneur, where I've successfully started, grown and sold two startups. I put my art career on hold during that time. Now, I consider my art career to be my third startup.”
What inspires you?
“Two things: (1) at a personal level, I like to make people happy, and I use art as a medium to evoke positive emotions. I try to do this on two levels - first at an immediate and intuitive level, and second at a cerebral/thought provoking level. And (2) through my professional career, I led advertising and brand teams as head of strategy and creative, where I learned to appreciate how telegraphic visuals can be in conveying meaning, and how very subtle differences in color palette can influence mood I bring the two together in my artwork, so that my art is a culmination of what I've learned and what I hope to communicate to my audiences.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“At the heart of my art lies a deep love for color and the way it shapes our moods and perceptions of the world. Through my previous professional experience as an advertising brand strategist, I learned to appreciate how very subtle color differences affect the mood and personality of any visual piece, so that is something I obsess about in my creative work. Subject wise, I tend to focus on topics that naturally connect the heart and mind, such as special places, play and life, but other times, I simply use art as a way to experiment with shapes and color. Ultimately, my goal as an artist is to put a smile on your face each time you see one of my pieces, and hopefully serve as a reminder to enjoy life's little moments. My goal in art is to create paintings that are enjoyable to see on your wall, but also provoke deeper thought and reflection when you want them to, i.e. timeless pieces that speak to you in new ways as you go through life’s journey.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work combines vibrancy, precision, and an easy visual navigation of the subject matter. I aim to create pieces that spark immediate recognition and joy – like a poster – but also provoke longer reflection, offering enough context to guide the imagination for personalized thought. As a result of the above, I think my art reflects who I am - part scientist, part visual storyteller, and part multiculturalist.”
Which artists influence you most?
“This has changed over the years. Growing up, I loved Keith Haring for the pop of attitude in his pieces, JMW Turner for the moods he is able to convey, and MC Escher for the precision in his work and cerebral nature of it. Now, I care more about individual pieces from a wider variety of artists and learning about what motivated them to create the piece the way they did. I fundamentally believe that the human sense for aesthetics hasn't changed for millennia, but it's our everyday experiences that affect the way each of us visually express ourselves, and its now interesting for me to learn from that collective human experience.”
“At the heart of my art lies a deep love for color and the way it shapes our moods and perceptions of the world.”
What is your creative process like?
“I usually have 5-6 things I want to paint and I'm able to see them in my head - it just needs to be put on canvas. Which one I end up choosing to paint next depends on my mood for the day, how my portfolio is shaping up and what story I want to tell next.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“For so much of history, art has been a catalyst for societal change - a movement of sorts, whether it be at a smaller individual level or collective action of many artists. Also, before the age of cameras and digital technology, art was also a means to chronicle the stories, the people and scenes of an era, so there was a need for precision for the artists who wanted to be the historians of their times. I think the former (catalyst) role still lives strong, while the latter (camera) is waning. What I find to be a shame is that much of the societal nudging by artists tends to focus on the negative and dark side. Perhaps this is due to the personal mindset of the artists themselves, but I'm not sure. Regardless, I believe that art can and should be positive - something fun and uplifting to see on your wall - and motivate change as a positive catalyst. In the digital era where AI is blurring the lines of reality from the other direction, I think the ability for art to serve as a positive, humane and healthy cultural barometer grows stronger. That is how I see the role evolving and how I hope to help society as well.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I started as an artist in mid 2024 but have had the honor to be invited to several gallery exhibitions already. This month, I'm showing my work in Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey, and next month in New York. I am very grateful for these opportunities! I have an upcoming exhibition which features one of my pieces in its promotions.”
Website: meishibata.com
Instagram: @meishibata_art
