Roma Tattoo Expo #19 (2018)

THE BEST TATTOO ARTISTS IN THE WORLD GATHER IN ROME FOR THE 19TH EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL TATTOO EXPO ROME

With more than 400 artists, the Roman one is one of the largest tattoo events in the world

Rome, once again, will be the setting for the incredible marble setting of the Palazzo dei Congressi, with its 6,000 square meters of space. This will be the venue for tattoo artists from all over the world, representing the most diverse currents and styles in which a stroke of ink can be expressed on human skin.

Legends of the tattoo world, as well as the best new talents, will gather in the capital from Friday 4th to Sunday 7th May 2018 for the nineteenth edition of the International Tattoo Expo.

Every year, the Rome convention has always seen the participation of public figures, from the beautiful actress and artist Asia Argento, to the super-tattooed Roma footballer Radja Nainggolan, World Champion Marco Materazzi, and YouTuber Damiano Er Faina, just to name a few.

This year, the surprises don’t end there. For the nineteenth edition of the International Tattoo Expo Rome, we will have as special guests Matteo Minozzi and Renato Gianmarioli, young talents from the Italian National Rugby Team, avid tattoo enthusiasts, and now key figures for the Italian national team and the entire Italian rugby movement. This has been a very important year for Matteo Minozzi, as he was the only Italian to be named “Player of the Year” in the Six Nations tournament after scoring four tries in five matches.

Among the special guests will be Carl Brave, the Roman rapper who’s driving crowds wild across Italy. Exactly one year after the release of his album Sempre In Due, Carl Brave will be attending a fan convention as a tattoo enthusiast.

The success of the event, now in its nineteenth year, confirms how the world of tattoos has become a symbol of modern artistic culture. The event’s prestige is confirmed not only by the number of visitors attending each year, but also by the artistic excellence of the tattoo artists and the celebrity guests with a passion for tattoos.

TATTOO ARTISTS
Among the 400 Italian and international artists we remember:
Łukasz Smyku Siemieniewicz (Dead Boy Tattoo), Franco Roggia, Gianluca Ferraro, Giulia Montanari, Hussein Mistrah, Ivan Pecoraro (Max Studio A Dübendorf, Zurich), Kike Esteras (Black Ship, Barcelona), Daria Pirojenko, Nicholas Matik, Owen Paulls, Roberto Dolci, Roberto Lauro, Sergey Murdoc, Fabio Guerreiro (True World Tattoo), Francesco Cinti Piredda (Uno Per Cento), Vladimir Arhipkin (Kisa Kisenka), Zek Keleman (Comic Tattoo, Budapest), Rafel Delande, London; Jannicke Wiese Hansen, Norway; Stevie Floyd, USA; Jef Whitehead, USA; Keenan Bouchard, USA; Taneli Jarva, Helsinki; Job De Quay, Helsinki.

As has long been clear, the body becomes a canvas on which to draw shapes and colors, or even just a message that always has a strong personal meaning. Those who choose to get a tattoo know that the design will remain forever imprinted on their skin: the choice of a subject therefore always has a profound meaning, and the hand that creates it must be of proven mastery.

Among the leading experts in the art of tattooing who will participate in this nineteenth edition, the following deserve a brief introduction (which however they do not need):

MARCO MANZO: A pioneer of the ornamental style, he was the first tattoo artist in the world to officially participate in the Guatemala National Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale as a tattoo artist, designer, planner, and sculptor. He is credited with introducing tattoos to contemporary art and high fashion.

ALO LOCO: He began his tattoo career in Bali seven years ago. He currently works in London (Kamil Tattoos), focusing on black and white realistic techniques.

ANTON AUTONOMO: He began his career as a drawing teacher in Russia and then devoted himself to tattoos, especially realistic ones, which led him to create incredible works.

CLAUDIO COMITE: Born in Naples, he developed a passion for tattoos at the age of thirteen. Just a year later, he began creating his own art using basic tools—needle, cotton, and Pelikan ink.
With a flair for geometric designs, he embraced the tribal style, eventually moving on to Polynesian and Maori tattoos. In 2005, he opened his own studio, LITTLE STAR TATTOO, in Naples.

NUNO FEIO: Portuguese by birth, he began tattooing in 2010, specializing in black and white realism and receiving sponsorship from numerous international studios. Finally, in January 2017, he opened his own studio in Lisbon: Graveyart-Tattoo Studio.

MARK KORNEV: The St. Petersburg artist specializes in realistic tattoos in both color and black and white.

FABIO FILIPPONE: After a period of traveling, working for international studios in the United States (New York, Miami, and Baltimore), Sweden, Germany (Randy Engelhard’s Heaven of Colors), and Italy (Alex De Pase’s Off the Map), he opened his own studio in Aosta in 2002. His preferred style is black-and-white realism.

ROBERTO GASPERI: Based in Florence, where he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, he travels the world to acquire new knowledge and express his art in the surrealist style, both colored and black and white.

VALERIO SERPETTI: Roman tattoo artist, owner of Blood Colour Tattoo Studio in San Cesareo. Having been in the industry for 14 years, he describes his use of color as influenced by the Californian scene, infusing his portraits with a personal style. He has twice been a jury member at the International Tattoo Expo in Rome, in the portrait and realistic categories.