Tattoos are a luxury. That’s the opinion of Mr. K, a resident artist at Bang Bang Tattoos, New York. Formally trained at Parsons School of Design, his career evolved from corporate graphic design to streetwear fashion, before picking up a tattoo machine last year. A lover of fine art, some of his first works were […]
Tag: Blackwork
Digimatism: A Future Visual Language by Stanislaw Wilczynski
Moscow-based tattoo artist Stanislaw Wilczynski produces shape-centric imagery that is born out of the Digimatism movement. Digimatism, a combination of the words “digital” and “suprematism,” describes his bold abstract assemblages that are created with the help of the computer. This contemporary approach has a historic bend to it by recalling artistic movements from the early […]
Guga Scharf’s Erratic Line Tattoos Inspired by Sketchbook Drawings
Many tattoo artists create drawings and paintings off the skin, and Guga Scharf is an example of how the two worlds intersect. Borrowing imagery from his pencil and ink sketchbook, he translates the surrealist, minimal aesthetic into his tattoos. Erratic lines and squiggles decorate his characters, which are used as both a device for shading […]
Bold, Text-Heavy Tattoos by Luxiano Street Classic Will Not Be Ignored
Traveling tattoo artist Luxiano Street Classic has only been working for a few short years, but his bold style has made striking impression with people around the world. The designs are a riff on the American Traditional aesthetic, but skip the shading and go for solid shapes. They incorporate mask-like imagery of skulls, devils, and […]
10 Artists Who Create Striking Geometric Tattoos Spanning the Body
Geometric shapes are the building blocks of our world, and their brilliant simplicity makes them a popular choice for tattoos. Their historical acknowledgement reaches as far back as ancient Greece, a civilization that gave the field its name—geo- meaning “earth” and –metron meaning “measurement”—and studied spatial relationships. Geometry was revolutionized by Euclid, the man considered […]
Dramatic Portraits with Something to Hide by Kurt Staudinger
Tattoo artist Kurt Staudinger creates intense portraits that visually pop from the skin. The realistically-rendered pieces utilize a soft, diffused approach that adds an eerie quality to the subjects’ personas. Their glassy eyes pierce us with a knowing gaze, as if they’re about to reveal a dark, hidden secret. Staudinger remains quiet about his characters, […]
Japan-Based Tattooer Gakkin Creates Beautiful Body Suits
Once dreaming of becoming a fashion designer, Gakkin simply got bored of fashion school and preferred hanging out at local tattoo shops. Fast forward almost two decades later, he is revered in the international tattoo scene for his freehand color and black works. The latter being the focus of this feature and showing us he’s […]
Simple, Ingenious, and Amusing: Blackwork Tattoos by Ilya Brezinski
Tattoo artist Ilya Brezinski creates polished blackwork drawings that just happen to be on the skin. The tightly-rendered pictures—often single subject—interact with the body in a playful way: a collar bone becomes a guide for a tightrope while half of a bicycle wheel is made wholly complete because it’s placed on a rounded pectoral muscle. […]
Inking the Sacred: Mandala Tattoos by Katia Somerville
For Katia Somerville, the experience of tattooing is as spiritual and unique as the artwork she creates. Known for her complex black-ink mandala tattoos, Somerville adapts sacred geometry to the body through undulating compositions. Flawless line work, stippling, and shading allows her to develop tattoos that unfold the mind as personalized microcosms. Her studio, Rainfire […]
Sinister Visions: Blackwork Tattoos by Robert Borbas
Róbert Borbás (aka, Grindesign) is known for his incredible blackwork tattoos—and deservedly so. Along with strong lines and flowing compositions, Borbás harnesses the subtle nuances of black and gray ink to produce deep, lush, gothic scenes haunted by demonic animals, moldering skulls, and the restless undead. Much of his imagery derives from themes of the […]