Originally from Hungary, Imrich Kovacs is a self-taught tattoo artist based in Bratislava, Slovakia. Well, as it turns out, tattoo artists have long been embracing digital technology to sketch and plan their work. He’s known for his vibrant and contrasting colors and simple yet provocative designs. He’s one of the few tattoo artists I’ve truly been impressed with, and if I were to ever get a tattoo, he’d be the only one I’d trust.
From Traditional Art to Tattoo Imrich never planned on becoming a tattoo artist. His artistic career began at university in Budapest, Hungary where he explored many different mediums to express his creativity.
From the first glance, Imrich’s style evokes something deep. It’s simple yet complex. The colors, lines, and shapes contrast one another in a way that creates an intricate sense of balance. The imagery feels as if it’s derived from the ancient hieroglyphics of some long-forgotten culture. It conveys power in its rawest form. And that is certainly Imrich’s goal.
But I wanted to know how Imrich developed this unique style. As it turns out, which is probably the case with most artists, Imrich first perfected a traditional style.
“All the progress came from my travels and because I got into some guest spots,” Imrich said. “It started in Switzerland and then slowly I went to different places like Ljubljana [Slovenia] or Graz [Austria]. I was also getting in touch with different tattooers who, at first, showed me traditional tattoo art. I saw the flash books of Spider Murphy and I was going to big conventions in Milan, Krakow and London.”
