We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yuri Ortiz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Yuri, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

In my experience as an Artist and Art Curator working in the tattoo industry, I have observed a very interesting trend: the evolution of traditional tattoo studios into studios and galleries. This is a subject I’ve been writing about for a few years now, as I’ve found many parallels between the history of art and the history of contemporary tattooing. As far as I know, I’m the only Art Curator actively involved in visual production with tattoo artists. Over the years, working with artists in Mexico, the United States, France, and Spain, I have seen how the tattoo industry has branched out, giving rise to exhibition spaces within tattoo studios themselves. I have also noticed a significant trend where visual artists are increasingly exploring the world of tattooing as an extension of their own work. Tattoo art, having existed long before museums, galleries, and the ‘art world,’ presents an intriguing evolution of tattoo studios, a topic I’m interested in exploring in depth. Currently, I am teaching a course on visual production for social media, focused on the work of tattoo artists.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began my career as a curator in the tattoo industry in 2018. I was hired to manage the social media for a tattoo artist. It’s important to mention that this artist was not only dedicated to tattooing but also had significant artistic development before starting to tattoo. He was already a transdisciplinary artist who mastered different artistic mediums such as oil, acrylic, and watercolor. This was extremely interesting to me because, until then, I had not met any artist who actively involved their artistic work in tattooing, at least not in the small city where I lived. We quickly hit it off, and I found an incredibly interesting path of creation, which in a few months led us to work at major tattoo studios in Mexico City, and later in the United States, France, and Spain. I discovered that my knowledge of art history and my very particular vision of content creation had a lot of potentials. For me, there is an important distinction between tattoo artists and tattooers. Tattooers replicate what they are asked to do, acting as service providers. In contrast, tattoo artists, who often have a background in artistic training, seek to propose a new vision of tattooing and transfer their original artistic work to their tattoos. As a personal policy, I choose to work exclusively with artists who excel in one or more artistic disciplines beyond tattooing. This approach enables me to discover more authentic methods to showcase their work on social media.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am very interested in opening a visual and dialogical space to discuss contemporary tattooing. In 2019, the Tattoo Artists Union of France (Syndicat National des Artistes Tatoueurs et des Professionnels du Tatouage, SNAT) discussed this topic in their manifesto, ‘Manifesto for the 10th Art,’ which I find extremely important. I believe that in a few years, my role as an art curator working with tattoo artists will become significant. My desire is for more people to share the perspective I have on the parallels between painting and tattooing. Through my vision, I aim to destigmatize the biased view of tattooing and tattoo studios, opening the door to a new perspective on contemporary tattoo artists.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing for me is sharing what I know, and seeing how knowledge is enriched by other perspectives, from other artists and creatives, always seeking to innovate and create. The originality of ideas comes from an inexhaustible source that only we, creative people, have. Creativity is something that can’t be faked. Finding that same passion in others is what I find most rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mixi-art-studio.com
• Instagram: @yuskadd
• Other: Mixi Art Studio @mixi.art.studio