About Mei

Mei Shibata is a New York–based contemporary artist whose work plays with perception, logic and visual discoveries.

Working primarily with acrylics, Mei creates paintings that blend familiar objects and destinations with impossible geometry and subtle perceptual distortions. Her compositions often contain hidden mathematical or spatial paradoxes, such as objects that could not physically exist, geometric forms that shift between dimensions, and environments that quietly bend the rules of reality. By integrating these ideas into warm, atmospheric worlds filled with light, leisure, and calm, Mei presents a unique body of work rooted in curiosity, elegance, and play, where perception itself becomes part of the artwork.

Mei’s practice is informed by an unusually interdisciplinary background spanning physics, medical engineering, brand design and visual communication. She holds a BA in Physics, an MS in Medical Engineering, and an MBA from Harvard University. Prior to focusing exclusively on her studio practice, she led creative and strategic organizations in New York, including founding and scaling an award-winning agency specializing in energy, climate, and infrastructure communications.

This background informs the core tenet of Mei’s fine art practice: when done well, intelligence and beauty generate powerful positive emotions. To achieve this, Mei treats her canvas as her perceptual playground: an exploration of how color, geometry and structure influence emotional response and convey unspoken messages. Her work balances analytical precision with aesthetics and play, creating compositions that reward both instant recognition and prolonged viewing.

Recurring motifs within her practice include impossible floatation rings, folded geometric forms, architectural illusions, symbolic travel objects, and mathematically inspired spatial systems. Through these visual languages, she builds up recognizable, immersive worlds where beauty, intelligence, humor, and curiosity coexist.

Mei’s work has been exhibited in juried and group exhibitions across the United States and internationally, including New York, London, Monaco, Barcelona, and Madrid. Her work is held in private collections internationally.