Gigi, a 35-year-old native of Seoul, enrolled at Suwon University to study apparel and textiles but left after the first year to become a fitness instructor and then a tattooist. With only three years of professional tattooing experience and a strong desire to learn, she has received plenty of advice from skilled Korean tattooers. Her […]
Category: Minimalism
Sop’s Single-Needle Tattoos
Sop, a native of Seoul, has been tattooing since 2016 and has a private studio in the South Korean city. His delicate line-art technique depicts his inner kid with whimsical, flowing lines. Sop aspires to be as proficient with line drawing as the renowned French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé (1932–2022), known for many children’s books. Using […]
The Line Drawing Tattoos of Joojoo
Joojoo often represents flora and fauna in her tattoos, which she conceptualizes on an iPad using the Procreate application by sketching until she finds the perfect fit for her clients. The artwork consists of line drawings with color accents that resemble crayon or paintbrush smudges. Her purpose is to create simple, organic line work. In […]
El Nawal’s Black-Ink Tattoos Embody Energy
Alberto Hartleben is known as “El Nawal” in the tattoo community. A Guatemalan native who has lived most of his life in Brazil. In 2021, he co-founded a private tattoo studio in Houston, Texas, where he currently resides and works. As a tattoo artist, he employs black ink due to its beauty and longevity. In […]
Tattooist Basil’s Poetic Geometric Art
While micro tattoos are not for everyone, there is a sizable global market for this work, with South Korean tattooists in high demand for their meticulous talent. Basil is another emerging tattooist who incorporates art and design elements into her geometric tattoos. A customer sends visual references (photographs of birds, flowers, or landscapes), and she […]
Minimalism: Tattoos by Berlin-Based Artist Mono
Previously working in a private art gallery in Prague, Mono (David Kejr) moved on to focus on his art-making and managing/touring with music bands for four years where he traveled and opened his horizons about life. His real start in tattooing only happened in 2013, when he inked his friends (i.e. exploring styles and techniques) […]
The Fun Modernist Tattoos of Carlo Amen
Lighthearted and colorful is the linework of Carlo Amen, a tattooist and co-owner of private studio Les Maux Bleus in Paris. His art is inspired by French Modernists and Spanish artist Picasso who spent most of his life in France. The 1939 cubist painting “The Weeping Woman” and 1949 line drawing “Dove of Peace” ghostly […]
367: The Kooky and Offbeat Tattoos of Victor Zabuga
To say Viktor Zabuga’s works are minimalist or simplistic is a total understatement. Chockful of short millennial musings, contemporary symbols, and clean linework, Zabuga’s works are the silent voice of the European youth subculture. The only thing remotely simple about the tattoos he does is the essence of each piece. These are the modern sentiments of […]
Pain and Love: The Tattoo Designs of Yashka Steiner
Swiss-based, second-generation tattooist Yashka Steiner has worked as a graphic designer for over twenty years, now less in the field and more focused on body art. “I don’t use a pen, I work against the machine,” states Steiner, who works similarly to former chess player Garry Kasparov—against the computer, meticulously thinking of every move, every […]
Update from Postminimalist Tattoo Artist Okan Uckun
We featured the work of Okan Uckun in the past, but in the years since he has continued to create gorgeous tattoos. Formerly based in Turkey, he now works out of Bang Bang Tattoo in NYC. Minimalist tattoos seem to be all the rage at the moment (for example, see here), but Uckun distinguishes his […]