Artists
Tattoos
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Artist Guide
09
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27
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2024
New York City is home to some of the best tattoo artists in the world. Period. The city's incredibly diverse population, a long history within the tattoo industry, and an active art scene, make NYC a cultural hub for tattooing and creativity.
Historically, New York City has been at the forefront of the tattoo scene in the United States. It was home to some of the country's earliest tattoo parlors and artists, establishing a legacy that continues to attract talent from around the world. Additionally, New York City's large and diverse population means there's always a demand for different tattoo styles. Lastly, the city’s reputation for embracing counterculture and artistic expression, cemented its status as a tattoo mecca.
Luckily, many of these world class artists are available for booking on Co:Create – the curated marketplace of the best tattoo artists in the world. In conjunction with our advisory board of world renowned tattoo artists and tattoo ethnographer, Dakota Weik of Inked Abroad, we hand select the best tattooists to feature in the marketplace.
Here is a brief introduction to 23 of the best tattoo artists in New York City who are available for booking on Co:Create
Fiori is a Brazilian artist currently based in New York. From a young age, she was passionate about drawing and creating art. With her mother being a tattoo artist, Fiori was exposed to tattooing techniques early on. Her childhood was spent traveling across Brazil due to her mother's love for travel and her father's work as a circus artist. In 2002, Fiori began tattooing. At 19, she moved to London to work as a tattoo apprentice, followed by three years in Italy. After nine years in Spain, she sought more freedom and focused on Neo-Traditional style while also working in Germany. Now, she's excited to start new projects in New York.
Jonny Gomez is a Chicano artist and tattooer based in NYC, ATX, and LA. He owns Macondo Brooklyn, a private tattoo studio in Brooklyn. Jonny's background in film and fine art heavily influences his textured blackwork tattoos. Initially focused on clean lines, he soon realized he wanted to develop his own style. The clean lines and heavy blackwork felt inorganic, leading him to create work with a texture reminiscent of charcoal and film. Jonny's gritty, powerful designs are inspired by Eastern European tattoos, post-war aesthetics, and artists like Seurat and Man Ray. His work is known for its strong gestural quality and innovative use of black and gray.
Originally from Ukraine, Koral spent 10 years living a nomadic lifestyle. She has traveled, backpacked and worked in over 37 different countries. Koral learned to tattoo while backpacking South America. Today, Koral’s style, Cosmic Colorism, reflects her time traveling and studying traditional art from all over the world. Koral uses color as a way to communicate the energy and mood of her subject matter. Her design process is deeply rooted in understanding her clients’ aesthetic and needs. Koral believes each tattoo is a unique journey that can lead to healing and transformation.
Anderson Luna, a self-taught tattoo artist from Brooklyn, is renowned for his black and grey tattoos, known for their refined elegance and intricate detailing. His unique style combines fine lines and geometric shapes, often enhanced with white ink to create striking highlights. While contemporary, his work draws on traditional imagery like roses, skulls, and sacred hearts as well as spiritual and religious imagery. Luna’s shading technique adds a three-dimensional quality to his portraits, setting his style apart from the more two-dimensional traditional approaches.
Now at Bang Bang, Anderson has worked in top shops including Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg.
Julius Margulies (aka Snuffy) is a multidisciplinary artist that uses surrealism to deliver emotion through his visual narratives. Working out of his NYC private studio, his mediums include skin, sound, screens, glass, fabric, metal and concrete. Julius is a versatile artist that pushes the boundaries across tattooing, fashion design, digital NFTs, and sculpture. He has served as a creative director for musicians, working with Universal Music Group, Netflix, and Calvin Klein, and has produced music for over a decade. His work has been featured in The New York Times, GQ, NYLON, PAPER Magazine, and Variety, showcasing his broad impact across multiple creative fields.
Sammy Ray creates raw, visceral, and experimental tattoos out of their private Brooklyn studio. They adore blastovers, a layering effect when a newly made tattoo goes over the top of an older piece in such a way that does not obscure the original work. They also create blastunders, looking for the edges of what ink and needles can do. Originally from Texas, Sammy moved to New York to study photography, communication and interactive design.
Tattooing out of New York City, Maks brings a distinctive style that blends the rugged, bold elements of brutalism with the intricately detailed and refined approach of fine line tattooing. This unique fusion results in designs that are both visually impactful and delicately nuanced. Each tattoo is crafted through a highly collaborative process between the artist and the client, tailored specifically to the chosen placement. Maks considers the overall composition of the body, integrating existing tattoos and future plans to ensure a harmonious and cohesive final result.
Ant is a pluridisciplinary artist working and living between London and New York City , specializing in ritual practices in Tattooing, Performance and Painting. They appreciate the apparent simplicity of lines, patterns, blackouts that characterize traditional tattoos and are able to elegantly expand on these types of ornamental aesthetics to deliver profound work, specifically in their sigil designs.
Born and raised in Queens, New York, artist Richard “MADE RICH” Parker transitioned from football to fine arts, graduating from Wagner College with a B.A. in Fine Arts. He has since honed his unique tattoo style, known as “made rich,” characterized by bold, minimal line work and whimsical shading. Rich’s creative approach is to generalize common issues and concerns that frequent his tattoo sessions. Drawing what seems fit from reality. His work has attracted attention from Urban Ink, The Source, Complex, and Afro Punk, and he has appeared on SPIKE TV’s Ink Master Season 3, Black Ink, and the upcoming Ink Master: Redemption Season 2.
Steph Tamez’s tattooing is beautifully executed, drawing on their vast knowledge of both traditional tattoo iconography and fine art, they blend illustrations, patterns and powerful symbolism into a tapestry of unique artistic identity. Tamez has worked at and owned some of the most iconic tattoo shops in New York and has honed their style throughout their career. An openly queer artist with over 30 years experience, Tamez currently lives and works in NY's Lower Hudson Valley.
Ruben Barahona is a tattoo artist known for his passion for developing intricate stories and characters, often exploring dark themes. He specializes in freehand tattoos that accentuate the client's muscles and anatomy, blending portraits with abstract elements from his imagination. Drawing from his background in oil painting, Ruben has crafted a signature color palette that enhances contrast and vibrancy, ensuring longevity and a striking healed appearance. In addition to tattooing, Ruben works in various mediums, including oil painting and pen and ink, showcasing his versatility and deep artistic vision.
Born in Colombia, Lalo Yunda has brought his unique style to New York City making a name for himself as one of the top artists in the country. Getting his start with a home made tattoo machine and entirely self taught he continues to master what he calls "magical realism," a style of tattooing that blends realism and the magic of fantasy in beautifully colorful work. He has been tattooing for over 30 years and has experience in various tattoo styles, from minimalism through black and gray, micro-realism to full-blown color realism, and has various awards from tattoo conventions and competitions.
Krish Trece is a prominent tattoo artist based in NYC, renowned for her Neo-Traditional and Neo-Romantic styles. Her work, inspired by classical art, Art Nouveau, nature, and myths, is celebrated for its ornate beauty and powerful female portraits set against botanical backgrounds. Krish has earned multiple awards at national and international conventions and is featured in various publications. She is known for her distinctive palette of warm, muted, and earthy tones. Each tattoo is meticulously crafted, ensuring a unique and personalized design tailored exclusively to each client.
Maria Alvarez is a tattoo artist based in New York City, originally from Spain. Her artistic roots, influenced by Spain's rich art history, shape her unique approach to tattooing. Maria’s journey blends intuition with exploration, spanning fine-line to realism. Specializing in concept art and microrealism, she transforms clients' dreams into intricate, personalized tattoos. For Maria, each tattoo is more than just art—it's a profound connection between artist and client. The blank canvas represents an open field for imagination, and seeing her work on someone's skin symbolizes a deep, shared bond.
Adriana Hallow is an award-winning tattoo artist known for her vibrant color work and intricate, whimsical designs on all skin tones. She has developed a unique style that combines realism and illustrative elements, creating custom tattoos tailored to each client's body and skin tone. As a Queer and Body Positive artist, Adriana specializes in scar cover-ups, helping individuals feel beautiful and reclaim their bodies after trauma. She and her wife Anna run Evening Star Tattoo in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Gossamer Rozen, also known as “grelysian”, is a transgender, nonbinary, femme fine artist and tattooer based in New York City. An African American and Filipino artist, Gossamer’s art originated from interests in game design, narrative illustration, and comic books. It explores identity and connection to the world. Since graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2012, Gossamer's work spans tattooing, fashion design, textile design, and digital media. The meticulous process of hand sewing, carving, and tattooing is central to their creative meditation and exploration of heritage. Pronouns: they/them, she/her.
Maxime Plescia-Büchi, is a Swiss tattoo artist, graphic designer, and creative director. He began his tattoo career under the famed Filip Leu before founding his creative agency and corresponding tattoo studios under the name of Sang Bleu. His signature style, deeply rooted in symbolism, architectural motifs, and ancient iconography, has become synonymous with the aesthetics of contemporary tattooing. An expert in black and gray engraving and ornamentalism, Maxime’s work pulls in inspiriation and references from his life as an artist – he applies things he has learned in his studies in design, psychology, art, typography, business, and from childhood.
Virginia Elwood is an openly queer tattoo artist with over two decades of experience, based in New York State. She specializes in custom tattoos, incorporating traditional Americana and folk art techniques to create bold, colorful designs. Known for her signature "freak flowers" and Americana-style portraits, Virginia draws inspiration from clients, folk art, and music. Her approach is open, warm, and intuitive, emphasizing collaboration and trust. Virginia loves tattooing for the unique stories each piece tells, striving to turn personal stories and visions into vibrant, enduring works of art.
Based in New York, Pablo is a Colombian handpoke tattoo artist with a background in architecture and design. His approach to tattooing is characterized by abstract lines that elegantly flow with the body's natural shape to create stunning, decorative designs. Pablo freehands each piece to harmonize with the client's form, resulting in tattoos that are not only visually captivating but also deeply personal.
Amalie Arsinevici is a tattooer working out of NYC and Copenhagen, who specializes in detail rich fine line work – receiving widespread recognition as an artist with expertise in the detailed micro realism tattoo style in black and grey. She began her journey in Denmark, learning the trade under the mentorship of Mark Wosgerau. Over the past thirteen years, her skills and styles have evolved, marrying techniques from neo-traditional to dot work and realism into a signature style that speaks volumes about her artistic journey. With an emphasis on creating pieces that are anatomically flattering to the individual, her tattoo art ranges from the smallest singular tattoos, to large compositions consisting of highly intricate elements.
Nick Fierro is a seasoned tattoo artist based in East Islip, NY. His extensive experience spans various styles, including traditional, neo-traditional, black and grey, color realism, and traditional Japanese influences. Specializing in sacred geometric, ornamental, and blackwork tattooing, Nick emphasizes a deep connection with his clients. He takes time to understand their stories, ensuring each piece resonates with their individuality. As the owner of Algorithm Tattoo and Fine Arts, Nick offers a private studio environment, allowing him to focus on creating timeless, intricately detailed tattoos that seamlessly integrate into each client’s identity.
Sam Mancino is a tattoo artist known for her realistic and minimalist style, with a unique focus on snake designs. Her portfolio showcases a wide range of snake tattoos in various sizes, types, and colors, reflecting her signature motif. Sam’s work combines detailed realism with clean, minimalist aesthetics, making her snake-themed tattoos a standout feature of her craft. Samantha works out of both NYC and Miami.
George “Orge” Kalodimas is a tattoo artist based in NY, USA. In 2023 George opened his own private studio, the As Above Tattoo in Amityville, New York. He is world-renowned for his spiritual mandalas and sold-out Solstice Mandala book, based on his six-month project, designing one mandala every day for an entire solstice.