Romania, birthplace of Vlad Dracula the Impaler, home to some of the most impressive medieval castles and a landscape of sublime mountain ranges, is also a country with some really impressive tattoo artists and tattoo shops. Romania has suffered a lot in the 20th century, but now in the 21st it is bursting at the seams with artistic potential, and that includes the Romania tattoo artists that can be found in Bucharest and beyond.
The Best Romania Tattoo Artists to Check Out
There are a lot of wonderful reasons to visit Romania, from the perfectly maintained medieval town of Sighisoara to the incredible cuisine to be enjoyed in cities like Bucharest and Brasov, as well as the hidden castles and villages to be discovered and explore.
But beyond all of this, there are also the artists. The tattoo artists in Romania are as talented as their food is delicious. So, if you’re planning to visit Romania any time soon, maybe book in an appointment with one of these fantastic Romania tattoo artists.
Rheea Devri
One of the best Romania tattoo artists, Rheea Devri is someone very, very special. Her art is boundary-pushing, and she is a wonderful example of where the world of Romanian tattoo artists is heading. Her artwork is boldly and brilliant unique; truly outside the box.
She specialises in small but intricately detailed pieces, usually circular, and formed from blends of soft colour and black-and-grey. There is so much charm and elegance that oozes from every piece of artwork that Rheea creates, setting her far apart from her contemporaries.
Rheea is a member of Cactus Ink in Bucharest, but also the founded of that studio’s sister: Cactus Ink in Cluj-Napoca.
Chill
This tattoo artist, known only as Chill on Instagram, works out of Restless Tattoo Studio in Timisoara, and specialises in thick black tattoos. This minimalist style is so satisfying to look at, made up of block black and dense lines.
Reminiscent of the earliest American cartoons, Chill’s tattoos have a classic, timeless quality. And they do often lean into that old school cartoon style by emulating it through tattoos of anthropomorphised items and animals. Chill has an extensive collection of original flash designs for clients to choose from. Have a browse and request one next time you find yourself in Timisoara.
Against a sea of pop colour, neotrad, and hyper-realistic black and grey tattoos, Chill and their tattoos really stand out in the Romania tattoo artists scene.
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Urian Stelian
Based in the capital of Bucharest, Urian Stelian is the owner of Black Skull Tattoo Shop, a place with a name that pretty well represents the theme and style of Urian’s own tattoo art, and hosts some of the best Romania tattoo artists. One of the most renowned and respected tattoo artists in Bucharest, Urian is a master of hyper realistic and lifelike black and grey tattoo art.
Whether you’re looking to get a portrait tattoo of a person you know and love, or an animal you cherish, or perhaps something more art-related like a religious or mythical sculpture, Urian will deliver for you a perfect true-to-life tattoo that not only captures the image you’re looking for, but also the life and the soul behind it. His art carries emotion and passion in every line.
Laurica
One of the most popular tattoo artists in Bucharest. In fact, in all of Romania. Laurica is a charming artist with a unique eye. Her art ranges dramatically in style and design. Beginning with a core of hyper-realistic black and grey but playfully adding bold colours with flowers, happy creatures, and mind-melting landscapes, there is no other artist in Romania quite like Laurica.
Take a look through her portfolio and you’ll see how getting a tattoo from her means having a wholly unique and frankly beautiful piece of art on you for the rest of your life. You’ll never meet anyone else with a tattoo like yours, so wildly unique, charming, and smart are Laurica’s tattoos.
Beyond the blend of photorealism and vibrant colour is also this Romania tattoo artist’s penchant for surrealism in a kind of neon gothic sense. Angular lines and nods to body horror, blended with shock mixtures of greys, greens, and purples makes for an art style like no other. Laurica’s art is special.
Rotunjeanu Alin
You’ll notice for yourself by the end of this list that Romanian tattoo artists have a passion for photorealism and black and grey art. Rotunjeanu Alin, based out of Pitesti (a small town northwest of Bucharest), is another one of the best Romania tattoo artists for black and grey hyper-realism.
Alin’s art actually goes beyond simply mimicking real life, however. He also injects tasteful shocks of colour into his art, in a flower or an eye here and there. He also moves away from photorealism on occasion, while sticking to black and grey in order to deliver some very heavy metal tattoos that depict some very gothic imagery.
Where his realism excels is in historical images from Greece and Egypt, as well as in his staggering recreations of scenes from classic films that look breath-taking in tattoo form.
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Alcaz Alex
Alcaz Alex is one of our favourite Romanian tattoo artists. He is the owner of Penumbre Atelier, a tattoo shop based in the university city of Iasi in Eastern Romania.
The reason Alcaz is one of our very favourite artists is because of his unique blend of inky deep blacks with shocks of colour which often take established and recognisable things like animals, iconic artworks, or cartoon characters, and transform them into something surreal in a Picasso-esque kind of way. There isn’t a tattoo artist in Romania, or perhaps anywhere else in Europe, quite like Alcaz Alex.
He is bringing something wholly new and delightfully strange to the table. And not strange in an eerie or unsettling way, but strange in his exciting use of neon colour and thick, deep blacks. It’s mesmerising artwork that really must be appreciated.
Alin-Cristian Oprea
Here’s an artist who can accomplish just about anything, both in colour and in black and white. In fact, Oprea is at his most impressive when dabbling in a mix of the two.
Once again, this is a Romania tattoo artist with the skill of capturing real life remarkably beautifully in tattoo form. But unlike many of his contemporaries, Oprea often does so using soft and warming colours as well as shades of black and grey.
In my opinion, Oprea is at his strongest when utilising colour in his tattoos; when he is able to flex his impressive artistic muscles to deliver a tattoo inspired by something from either life of pop culture but with a bold and vibrant charm.
Buta Andrei
Buta Andrei just might be the next step in the evolution of neotrad tattoos. This style of tattooing evolved from the timeless nature of classic old school tattooing, taking the beloved art style of legends like Sailor Jerry and refining it with modern creativity and artistry.
Now, Buta Andrei has come along to elevate that style even further, injecting it with a shocking and wonderful amount of realism and the kinds of colours rarely seen in the world of tattooing. This is a Romania tattoo artist to keep a very close eye on.
Dragos Calmuc
Dragos is the founder and owner of Cactus Ink Bucharest, a studio which our first artist on this list – Rheea Devri – also works. Dragos is another artist with an almost unbelievable eye for detail in realism. His artwork is photorealistic, sure, but it also embodies the heart and soul of the person or creature he captures in his tattoos.
There’s so much boldness to Dragos’ tattoos, not just in their aesthetic, but also in the feeling they encourage in anyone who lays eyes on his art. Dragos really is the best at what he does, especially when he injects intensely bright and bold colour into his artwork. Then it really bursts into life and takes your breath away.