Erich Rabel

Bratislava’s black-and-grey realism extraordinaire Erich Rabel has quite the life story. At 30, he held a job at a gun store. By 32, he was working as a tattoo artist after changing paths on a whim. Now, some believe that the pursuit of realism can limit an artist’s ability to capture emotions. Yet, this is precisely where Erich Rabel shines: the more he leans into life-like verisimilitude, the better he captures raw feelings. Perhaps that is what inspired a whole generation of tattoo artists to follow in his footsteps.