現代美術家。社会経済が停滞・膠着する日本で、美術品の価値を決める制度設計自体を同時代性あるコンセプチュアル・アートと捉え、スーパーフラット以後の芸術運動の可能性を探る。2021年に東京大学大学院学際情報学府博士課程修了（卒業生総代）。カイカイキキでのアルバイトとスタートバーン株式会社の創業参画を経て、現・東京大学ブロックチェーンイノベーション寄付講座特任研究員。2023年にEUKARYOTEで初個展開催、2025年にdrawCircle Galleryでグループ展「メディアアートは潰す」主宰。
Kensuke ITO is a contemporary artist exploring the possibility of an artistic movement after Superflat in a Japan shaped by socioeconomic stagnation and institutional inertia. His practice treats the institutional design of art valuation itself as a form of contemporary conceptual art. He completed his Ph.D. at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, the University of Tokyo, in 2021, where he served as the graduate representative. After working at Kaikai Kiki and participating in the founding of Startbahn, Inc., he is currently a Project Researcher at the Endowed Chair for Blockchain Innovation at the University of Tokyo. His recent activities include his first solo exhibition at EUKARYOTE in 2023 and organizing the group exhibition Media Art Endures at drawCircle Gallery in 2025.
Keywords: cumulative cultural evolution, consensus-building, network analysis
Google Scholar / Github
Selected exhibitions
- Group Exhibition. (2025), メディアアートは潰す, drawCircle Gallery, Tokyo
- Solo Exhibition. (2023), BUILDING BLOCKS: an homage to Seth Siegelaub, EUKARYOTE, Tokyo
- Group Exhibition. (2022), MetaFair, Sono aida #shin-yuurakucho, Tokyo.
- Group Exhibition. (2019), ESPlab “The Consensus”, Ai Koko Gallery, Tokyo.
Referred papers and conference proceedings
- Ito, Kensuke. (2024), “Cryptoeconomics and Tokenomics as Economics: A Survey with Opinions”, 2024 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC), pp. 729-746.
- Ito, Kensuke. (2023), “Be More Conceptual Regarding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as Art”, Leonardo 56 (3), pp. 290-291.
- Okubo, Ikkou, Kensuke Ito, Kyohei Shibano, and Gento Mogi. (2023), “Non-Fungible Token Bubble Prediction using Extended Log-Periodic Power Law Model”, 13th International Conference on Computer Science, Engineering and Applications (CCSEA 2023), Vol5, pp. 239-255.
- Mita, Makiko, Kensuke Ito, Shohei Ohsawa, and Hideyuki Tanaka. (2020), “What is Stablecoin?: A Survey on Its Mechanism and Potential as Decentralized Payment Systems”, IJSKM, Vol4, No.2.
- Mita, Makiko, Kensuke Ito, Shohei Ohsawa, and Hideyuki Tanaka. (2019), “What is stablecoin?: A survey on price stabilization mechanisms for decentralized payment systems”, 2019 8th International Congress on Advanced Applied Informatics (IIAI-AAI). IEEE.
- Ito, Kensuke and Hideyuki Tanaka. (2019), “Token-Curated Registry with Citation Graph”, LEDGER, Vol.4, pp. 191-209, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/ledger.2019.182
- Ito, Kensuke, Shohei Ohsawa, and Hideyuki Tanaka. (2019), “Information Diffusion Enhanced by Multi-Task Peer Prediction”, Journal of Data Intelligence (JDI), Vol.1, No.1, pp. 018-035, Rinton Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26421/JDI1.1
- Ito, Kensuke, Shohei Ohsawa, and Hideyuki Tanaka. (2018), “Information Diffusion Enhanced by Multi-Task Peer Prediction”, the 20th International Conference on Information Integration and Web-based Applications & Services (iiWAS2018), November 19th to 21st, 2018, Yogyakarta: Grand Mercure Yogyakarta Adisucipto, pp.96-104.【Best Paper Award】
- 伊東 謙介. (2018), 分散型オラクルの合意形成に対するピア予測法の潜在的有用性, Journal of Information Studies, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, No.95 pp.45-56.
- Ito, Kensuke. (2016), “Dynamics of Cumulative Culture with Microfoundation”, Journal of Information Studies, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, No.91 pp.47-55.
Dissertation
- Ito, Kensuke. (2021), “Consensus-Building on Citations in Peer-to-Peer Systems”, Ph.D. dissertation in Socio-information and communication studies course of Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies.【III/GSII Dean’s Award】
Books
- Ito, Kensuke. (2024), BUILDING BLOCKS: an homage to Seth Siegelaub.
Articles and chapters in edited books
- Adjovu, Charles. (2022), Interview: Kensuke Ito on the Peer Prediction Mechanism, Medium, Ledgerback Digital Commons Research Cooperative.
- Ito, Kensuke. (2021), Do Resale Rights Stimulate the Art Industry? ―in the light of economics and the spread of NFT, Medium, Startbahn, Inc.
- 伊東 謙介. (2021), 追及権は美術産業を活性化するのか？―経済学とNFTの普及を踏まえて, note, Startbahn, Inc.
- 伊東 謙介. (2019), 第3章 Art Blockchain Networkが取り組む課題, Art Blockchain Network: The White Paper, Startbahn, Inc.
- Ito, Kensuke, and Marcus O’Dair. (2019) “A Critical Examination of the Application of Blockchain Technology to Intellectual Property Management”, Business Transformation through Blockchain. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp.317-335.
- 伊東 謙介. (2018), 先行研究の調査を通じて考える学問としてのCryptoeconomics, d10nLab 寄稿レポート 12/27
- 伊東 謙介. (2018), P2Pネットワーク上に文脈を累積させるプロトコルは設計可能か？, 美術手帖 2018年12月号, pp.90-93.
Grants and awards
- III/GSII Dean’s Award. (2022), for Doctoral Dissertation.
- Best Paper Award. (2018), in the 20th International Conference on Information Integration and Web-based Applications & Services (iiWAS2018).
Panels
- Ito, Kensuke. (2017), “A Commons-Based Intellectual Property Management Incentivised by Peer-Review and Reward Tokens”, Blockchain and Intellectual Property organized by European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) at Alicante.
- 伊東 謙介. (2017), “累積的文化進化のミクロ的基礎付け”, 日本数理生物学会 (JSMB) 27周年記念大会, 北海道大学.
Non-referred papers
- Ito, Kensuke. (2017), “A Survey for the Methodology of the Theories on Cumulative Cultural Evolution”, Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics the 21th anniversary meeting at Kyoto University.
- Ito, Kensuke. (2015), “A Fundamental Dynamics of Cultural Growth with Microfoundations”, Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics the 19th anniversary meeting at Otaru University of Commerce.
Education
| October 2021 | Ph.D. in Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at The University of Tokyo (supervised by Professor Noboru Koshizuka) |
| March 2016 | M.A. in Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at The University of Tokyo (supervised by Professor Hideyuki Tanaka) |
| March 2014 | B.A. in Economics at Waseda University (supervised by Professor Yoshiaki Ogura) |
| March 2010 | Waseda Highschool |
Work Experience
| October 2021 – | Project Researcher at Endowed Chair for Blockchain Innovation, the University of Tokyo |
| April 2017 – | Researcher at Startbahn, Inc |
| March 2014 – March 2017 | Manager at Startbahn, Inc |
| June 2013 – August 2013 | Internship at Wako Works of Art |
| April 2010 – May 2012 | Part Timer at Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. |