1969 年出生於日本北海道，現居東京。
曾從事專業文物修復與保存工作，之後轉向雕塑創作，憑藉修復技術所累積的深厚材料知識與精湛工藝，發展出獨具特色的雕塑語彙。

1969 Born in Hokkaido, currently based in Tokyo.
After working as a professional repair and restoration craftsman, I transitioned into a career as a sculptor.

▌創作自述 Artist Statement
中谷健一是一位民俗藝術創作者，以後人類視角重新詮釋傳統神話與民間故事，並將其轉譯至當代語境之中，建立過去與當代之間的連結。

其創作的核心主題「Kyowai Mingei（虛歪民藝）」意指「虛空扭曲的民間藝術」，用以描述民間藝術與工藝在時間流動中逐漸變得空洞、並持續變形與扭曲的狀態。透過在當代社會的變形與錯置之中，重新構築過往的靈性、既視感與懷舊情緒，藝術家中谷健一試圖揭示逐漸消逝的記憶，以及虛構與現實之間日益模糊的邊界。

以當代扭曲的光線回望古老故事的殘響——這正是他創作的根源。

Folklore Artist

Kenichi Nakaya is a folklore artist who reinterprets traditional myths and folktales from a post-human perspective, bridging them into the contemporary world.

His central theme, “Kyowai Mingei” (虚歪民芸)— which can be translated as “Void-Distorted Folk Art” — refers to the way folk art and craft gradually become hollow, transforming and distorting over time. By reconstructing the spirits of the past, déjà vu, and nostalgia within the distortions and transformations of modern society, the artist Kenichi Nakaya brings to light fading memories and the blurred boundary between the virtual and the real.

To gaze upon the echoes of ancient stories through the warped light of the present — that is the root of his creative practice.