Arts & Entertainment
‘The Living Canvas’ Aims to Bridge the Gap Between Tattoo Industry and Traditional Art Spaces
Tattoos by Tony Uno of UpRise Tattoos were featured during “The Living Canvas” tattoo exhibition on Nov. 1, 2025. (Courtesy of Khalil Jones)
Chicago tattoo artist Nelson Aviles has attended tattoo conventions for much of his career.
But over the years, he said that despite the opportunities that can come with conventions, he also began to notice a “commercial noise” at the events that he felt led to artists and their artwork being overlooked.
“Over the years, the community aspect, the artistic aspect became a little diluted, and I saw a need for a different type of platform, something that represents the art in a more focused spotlight and shares the story of the clients and the artists that wear the artwork and made the artwork,” Aviles said.
Aviles, a tattoo artist at Black Atlas Studios in Pilsen, started a nonprofit and hosted an inaugural tattoo exhibition last year that aimed to bridge the gap between the tattoo industry and the traditional art world.
The next “The Living Canvas” event will be held Friday at the Bridgeport Art Center.
At the event, featured tattoo artists from the Chicago area will bring clients to model their tattoos, and artists will have an opportunity to do a presentation and Q&A. Attendees will also be able to speak with the client models and ask them questions about their tattoos, Aviles said.
The formal event will have a jazz band, living paintings, tattoo artist seminars, tattoo giveaways, tarot readings, a live piercing demonstration, food, and photo opportunities.
Chicago tattoo artist and Green Soap Collective founder Nelson Aviles speaks during the inaugural “The Living Canvas” tattoo exhibition on Nov. 1, 2025. (Courtesy of Khalil Jones)
Through the event, Aviles aims to make the case that tattooing can be fine art.
“It’s a very strong community, and all I’m doing is taking that and putting it into the spotlight,” Aviles said. “All of this is for the community, all of this is for helping artists who I feel like are underrepresented through tattoo conventions, through reality TV shows, through stigmas of what the tattoo industry is, and putting them into this fine art context.”
The Green Soap Collective, which hosts “The Living Canvas,” is made up of the team members at Black Atlas Studios. The name of the nonprofit is a reference to “The Green Soap Box,” a podcast Aviles started at the tattoo studio and is a nod to a sanitizing product tattoo artists use. The overall mission of the nonprofit is to spotlight local tattoo artists, provide accessible arts to the community and provide arts education.
Friday’s “The Living Canvas” event will feature 15 artists with a range of art styles, such as realism, abstract, illustrative black work and traditional.
One of the tattoo artists is Krissy Fabis, who works at Electric Tattoo Parlor in Carpentersville and specializes in black work tattoos. Fabis will showcase bigger-scale projects she has tattooed on arms and legs, and will feature work on clients with different skin tones.
Fabis, who’s been tattooing for 11 years, began her tattoo career practicing on friends and family, and then later working as an apprentice at a tattoo shop.
One of the artists showcasing work at the upcoming “The Living Canvas” event is Krissy Fabis, a tattoo artist at Electric Tattoo Parlor in Carpentersville who specializes in black work tattoos. (Courtesy of Krissy Fabis and Green Soap Collective)
“I worked at bars, I had a lot of friends and family in the area, so I had no problem finding guinea pigs,” Fabis said. “I was able to get an apprenticeship. … They put you through the wringer. I was breaking down all the guys’ stations, cleaning up. I was there from when it opened till when it closed every single day, not getting paid.”
Throughout her years in the industry, Fabis has seen many changes, such as the use of social media for tattoo artists to promote their work, tattoos being more common, and improvements in practices, tools and ink.
Fabis has also seen more female tattoo artists.
“When I started, it felt way more male dominant, so it was definitely more intimidating,” Fabis said. “Now it’s insane, the amount of chicks just killing it in the industry.”
Fabis said she hopes “The Living Canvas” will offer people a way to see tattoos in a classier atmosphere and offer an alternative to a hectic tattoo convention.
Proceeds will be funneled into future events, Aviles said.
“Tattooing is such a special art form, it’s one of the few art forms that people actually get to wear,” Aviles said. “People live and die with these tattoos, so I wanted to represent how special that is.”
For more information on “The Living Canvas” and tickets to the event, click here.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
