YOSHI （池谷剛一） 

画家・絵本作家・アートリンカー

YOSHIKAZU IKEYA

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1991年に多摩美術大学を卒業後、画家として本格的に作家活動を開始。
1999年には絵本『そして僕は天使になった』で絵本作家としてデビューし、以降、国内外で6作の絵本を出版。作品はドイツ語・韓国語・英語などにも翻訳され、多言語で広く読まれている。

2023年にはポルトガルにて、音楽家ゴンサロ・プラタスとの共作による絵本『CÉU』を発表。絵・詩・音が交差する新しい表現形態が話題を呼び、アートの越境的な可能性を示した。2025年以降は現代アートの領域にも活動を本格化し、国内外で精力的に創作を展開中。

現在は絵画や絵本の制作に加え、全国の幼稚園・保育園を中心に、子どもたちとのライブペイントやアートパフォーマンスを行っている。また近年は、他分野のアーティストや企業、地域との協働を通して、ジャンルや文化の境界を越えた表現に取り組んでいる。

自身の表現活動には、「Artlinker（アートリンカー）」という姿勢を掲げている。
アートを媒介に、人・ことば・感情・文化を静かにつなぎ、個と社会のあいだにある目に見えない風景を描き続けている。

最新の取り組みとしては、2025年6月に南アフリカのアーティストとともに、東京の廃墟的古民家を舞台に《Beyond RED》のライブペイントを実施。異文化の融合と即興性が話題を呼び、現代アートと地域空間の新たな接点を提示した。

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好きなアーティスト

Tom Waits
Otis Redding
Chet Baker
Charles Parker
Jim Jarmusch

Haruki Murakami

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artist name: YOSHIKAZU IKEYA (b.1969 -)
Picture book artist,story teller,artist.ArtLinker
Born in Tokyo/Japan, grown up in Japan,
 

After graduating from Tama Art University in 1991, he began his career in earnest as a painter.
In 1999, he made his debut as a picture book author with And Then, I Became an Angel, and has since published six picture books in Japan and abroad. His works have been translated into multiple languages including German, Korean, and English, and are widely read internationally.

In 2023, he released the picture book CÉU in Portugal, co-created with musician Gonçalo Pratas. This innovative work, blending image, poetry, and sound, garnered attention as a new form of expression and highlighted the transboundary potential of art. Since 2025, he has expanded his practice into the field of contemporary art, actively creating and exhibiting both in Japan and overseas.

In addition to creating paintings and picture books, he also conducts live painting and art performances with children, primarily at kindergartens and nursery schools throughout Japan. In recent years, he has also been engaging in cross-disciplinary collaborations with artists from other fields, companies, and local communities, exploring expressions that transcend genres and cultural boundaries.

He embraces the concept of “Artlinker” as the core of his creative identity—quietly connecting people, words, emotions, and cultures through art, while continuing to depict the invisible landscapes that lie between the individual and society.

His most recent project took place in June 2025, when he collaborated with a South African artist on Beyond RED, a live painting performance set in a dilapidated traditional house in Tokyo. The fusion of diverse cultures and improvisational elements drew attention, offering a new perspective on the intersection of contemporary art and local space.

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My favorite list

Tom Waits
Otis Redding
Chet Baker
Charles Parker
Jim Jarmusch

Haruki Murakami