Kengo Nakamura

Born in Osaka in 1969. Nakamura completed his master’s degree in Japanese paintings at Tama Art University.

He is now known for his unique paintings using motifs that represent modern society, popular culture, and art history. Among them are speech balloons and characters’ silhouettes from manga, and floor maps of Tokyo residences. In recent years, he has been producing a series titled “Hiragana Painting,” in which each composition is constructed through the supple and flowing curves of hiragana characters. Technically, combining coarse mineral pigments with fine ones, and making the layers in the manner of the traditional Japanese painting, Nakamura elaborately creates the rich texture where the colors reflect diffusely in the layers. Obtaining vibrant color effects, which cannot be achieved by other media, he has established his own style in the realm of lyrical tranquility.