Wild curiosity and strong independence give Tati Compton a unique voice in modern tattooing. Inspired by myths, mysticism and folklore from around the world, she handpokes figures of divine empowerment. Athena, Greek goddess of war, leaps into battle with grace. Ala, Nigerian Earth Mother, beams with natural hair and a halo of energy. There’s Circe, […]
Author: Morgan English
Morgan is a New York-based curator of contemporary tattoo art. She is Founder and Editor of the digital gallery tattrx.com, works as a freelance tattoo writer and an agent for modern artists.
Darker than Lichtenstein, more surreal than Warhol, tattooer Andrey Volkov retrofits ’60s pop with the spirit of 2017. His screenprint-esque silhouettes are coming unraveled, exhausted and alone. The dotwork may mimic halftone comic strips, but the groupings are looser, skewed and uneasy. Sometimes he even shatters the portrait itself, letting eyes and ears just float […]
Art masterpieces get revamped by Korean tattooer, Pitta KKM. From Picasso to Michelangelo to Magritte, from the waves of Hokusai to the temples of ChĆ«ta, KKM pulls inspiration from all over, updating their work through the lens of his heritage. “In Korea, there are traditional colors called âì€ë°©ì’ (five direction colors),” he explains. “Blue, white, […]
“I need to keep life interesting, always experiencing something new.” Hungarian artist Balazs Bercsenyi, of New York’s iconic Bang Bang Tattoo, has an insatiable appetite for exploration. “I’m a Sagittarius, so there’s a lot of fire in me,” he says with a warm smile, sipping on a cappuccino. “You could say thereâs a spirit of wanderlust and […]
Inspired by the way light travels through prisms, tattooer Shannon Perry started to experiment. “The first time I did a reflective piece, I had no intention of it being so realistic. I just didnât feel the need to stylize it.” She achieves the luminous effect through “a process of breaking the image down into a million […]
“Sex positivity is a theme I explore a lot in my figure drawings,” tattooer Brittny Abad points out. “Body- and sex-related topics were very taboo while I was growing up, so I left to figure out myself on my own terms.” A queer kid raised by ’80s pop culture, Abadâs Memphis-Milano siren song is set to […]
What if a circle could make your jaw drop? What if a line could turn your head, or even turn you on? Minimalists, of course, love the less-is-more look. But when it comes to tattooing, bold placement proves that simple doesnât have to mean boring. It’s not a new idea. Minimal shapes, lines and dotwork […]
“She can seduce any man she wants with her mesmerizing beauty.” Korean tattooer Suzani lovingly describes Tomie, a Japanese horror manga character, and the root of her creative inspiration. “Men couldn’t control their love toward her, so they killed her. Murdered, and buried into pieces. But no matter how many times they killed her, she came back […]
Brazilian newcomer Kat Alden began tattooing to âsupport people in the process of building homes for their spirits.â She feels the body is a house for the soul, an empty space in need of decor before it feels more like a home. âA tattoo can change the way a person sees themselves,â she explains. âIt can change their behavior, which […]
Avant-garde artist Ilia Zharkov is hungry for the madness that lies just beneath the surface. As an engineer, he fell in love with geometric precision. As a Moscow-based Millennial, he learned that perfection is also usually a lie. Whether we’re whitewashing our own stories with photo filters, or covering up scandals with propaganda, flawless images only […]
