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Tattoo artist Troy Denning of Invisible NYC
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In April, Troy and Jesse Denning opened up a Lower East Side business that combines their interests in contemporary art and tattooing. An innovative example of a mixed-use establishment, Invisible NYC is where art is simultaneously created and exhibited.
"It's not your traditional tattoo shop," says Jesse, who curates the ongoing series of art exhibitions in the front gallery area while her husband creates tattoos in the back. "We wanted to avoid any neon to try and grab people's attention. We wanted this to be very tasteful and creative."
At Invisible NYC, the flashing signs and grunginess that tattoo parlors can be known for is absent. It has the classy, minimalist feel of an art gallery coupled with the mystique of what goes on behind the partial wall neatly separating the gallery from the workshop. "It's a gallery of hidden art," Troy says. "It doesn't have to be forced down your throat." Indeed, with a façade that looks nothing like your typical tattoo shop, Invisible NYC is not a business that promotes getting tattoos. "I do them, I don't sell them," he says. "Either
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| "It's not your traditional tattoo shop." The front gallery of Invisible NYC |
it's for you, or it's not. It's something you know."
The concealed quality of this establishment, captured in its name, is also reflective of its professional clientele -- lawyers, bankers, film makers -- who, when their sleeves are pulled up or shirts are removed, reveal the unexpected design adorned on their bodies. Not just for Harley Davidson bikers, "tattoo culture spans the whole spectrum," Troy says.
Troy Denning is well-known in the tattoo industry, with clients coming from as far as Japan to have him work on them. His expertise has been honed over the past 15 years, and he has developed a strong following, which made it possible to open up a not-so-obvious tattoo shop that depends on passersby stopping in. Invisible NYC is an appointment-only studio that will soon have other reputable artists working alongside Troy.
As a teenager growing up in San Francisco, Troy was fascinated by the lifestyle of a tattoo artist who worked in his neighborhood. "It seemed like a world that was so different from the rest of the world," he says. Troy started out by giving himself a skull tattoo on his wrist using a needle and Indian ink. But that's the only design of his own featured on his body. To have more, he says, is "like filling your house with your own paintings." For his clients, he specializes in "large-scale Japanese influence" and treats the body as a three-dimensional surface, often incorporating joints to bring a design to life when viewed from different angles.
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| A tattoo in progress by Troy Denning |
Troy works with his clients to come up with a design that both the artist and subject are happy with. But he is wary of those who request "anything that a friend drew." "Tattooing is an art form of its own," Troy says. "I think painting is painting, illustration is illustration, and tattooing is tattooing. They all deserve their respect."
At Invisible NYC, Troy and Jesse tastefully pay tribute to the various multimedia art forms presented by a large roster of contemporary artists, and, of course, to tattooing. It's no wonder that the fusion of the arts in this shop feels like a natural grouping -- the chemistry between Troy and Jesse works so well. The couple met seven years ago when Jesse was getting a tattoo from a friend of Troy's, and they have been together ever since. Already married for two years, they finish each other's sentences, share similar interests, and have made it possible for one another to pursue their own creative interests -- on their own terms. In so doing, they have taken a new step in the presentation of contemporary art by redefining the tattoo studio and art gallery.
From May 27 through June 25, drawing and installation pieces by New York artist Carlyle Micklus will be on exhibit.
Invisible NYC
148 Orchard Street
(212) 228-1358
www.troydenningtattoo.com
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