Born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1993, Ochieng creates work that explores the emotional and psychological depths of the human experience. His passion for visual storytelling began with childhood pencil sketches of everyday life. He turned this early interest into a professional career by studying Fine Art at Kenyatta University, where he sharpened his technical skills under the guidance of expert mentors.

In 2024, Eddy was selected for the prestigious Art Omi International Residency in New York, where he expanded his global artistic dialogue through workshops and public engagement. His work is part of preeminent private and institutional collections across Africa, Europe, and North America.

The artist is regularly taking part in major international art fairs, including: 

·       PAN Art Fair | The Beach Is In The Forest | Amsterdam | Netherlands (2026)

·       Scope Art Fair | Art Basel Miami | USA (2025)

·       Sotheby’s | Children Of The Sun, Group Show | USA (2025)

·       Butter Art Fair | Indianapolis | USA (2025)

·       Tafeta Gallery | The Wait | Solo exhibition | London | UK (2023)

·       Water and Smoke | Joint exhibition | Nairobi | Kenya (2022)

·       Hansford & Sons Gallery | Virtual Viewpoint | New York | USA (2020)

·       PolkaDot Art Gallery | Keeping it Real | Group exhibition | Nairobi | Kenya (2019)

·       Franschhoek Art Festival | Cape Town | South Africa (2018)

·       The Kenya Art Fair | Nairobi | Kenya (2015, 2016, 2017) 

In Addition, works by Eddy Ochieng have been permanently incorporated into numerous institutional Collections in the US, including Skillern Family Art Museum, the Perez’ Art Museum, and the Legacy Museum Alabama.

Gallery ILÉ is honoured to welcome an artist of Eddy Ochieng's stature to our roster.

This marks another significant milestone in our journey, as we continue to expand our horizons to welcome critical and situated perspectives that transcend geographical origins, enriching our ongoing dialogue around Afro-diasporic worlds. 

The curation unfolds with the following 2 remarkable Series.

The Wise Elders | Part I

In this truly mesmerising Series, Eddy Ochieng captures with an almost obsessive attention to detail, the intimate beauty and subtle range of emotions, observed in his daily interactions with various elderly individuals from Nairobi's extended community. 

Yet it is never about perfection. Through this idiosyncratic body of work, the artist reveals the quiet dignity of aging skin, the fragility behind a calm gaze, or the sovereign resilience behind a scar. Thus, the paintings by Ochieng do not simply replicate likeness but strive to reveal presence and convey deeper meaning. Each composition is layered with the strata of history and memory preservation.

By The River | Part I 

With this astonishing Series, Eddy Ochieng invites us to gaze into a hypothetical mirror of sorts, in which the facial expressions of common individuals are transfigured into myriads of universal emotions encompassing  joy, longing, loss and contentment.

Upon the surface of each canvas, the artist masterfully deploys a space where viewers not only feel seen, but are summoned to pause long enough to ask: Who is this person? What have they endured? What do they carry within themselves? Questions that beckon us to reconsider our inherent humanity and remind us that we have more in common than we imagine.

For Eddy Ochieng, art is a mirror that bridges time, cultures, and geography. His creative practice is a response to an ever-shifting world, and a way of celebrating identity, sparking empathy, and preserving the beauty that resides within us everyday.