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Anil Gupta is a US-based Indian tattoo artist and graphic designer, who is popularly known for his exquisite style of inking famous miniature portraits, and postage-stamp-size tattoos of works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Van Gogh. He is considered one of the topmost inkers in the United States.
Wiki/Biography
Anil Gupta was born in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra). He did his schooling at Dr Antonio Da Silva High School in Dadar, Mumbai, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai, India. In 1991, he moved to the United States to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Computer Graphics.
Physical Appearance
Weight (approx.): 90 kg
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information available about his parents and siblings.
Wife
His wife’s name is Neelam Gupta.
Ink Studio Address
62 Rivington Street, New York City, 10002
Career
During the early 80s, when Anil was studying in college, he worked as a tattoo designer for Dr Jahangir Kohiyar, a tattoo artist and psychiatrist.
A picture of young Anil Gupta (left)
Anil learned the tattooing art from him and earned INR 25/- and kept it as a weekend job. During an interview, while talking about his early career days, Anil said,
In the 80’s when I started out it was not lucrative, that’s for sure. Creatively we were limited to what we thought was popular back then. And in the past decade or so the scope of what can be done has grown wider.”
A mermaid tattoo inked by Anil Gupta
He started his tattooing career primarily in Mumbai, India, and in 1991, he moved to New York, USA, where he became the owner of an ink studio named ‘Inkline Studio.’ Until 1997, getting inked and performing needle skimming was illegal in the United States. In an interview, Anil talked about his early days as an artist and said,
This was shortly after the Gulf War and the US was in recession. Jobs were scarce, people were not hiring and seeking work as an artist was out of the question. That’s when I picked up tattooing again.”
Anil fancies spiritual, nature, and portrait tattoos. Apart from these forms, he has a specialization in designing biomechanical tattoos.
A picture of Anil Gupta during the inking process at a workshop in Malad
He has inked many celebrities and is known for miniature renderings of paintings like the ‘Mona Lisa’ and Georges Seura’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.”
A tattoo of Mona Lisa inked by Anil Gupta
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Anil Gupta
Facts/Trivia
- Anil Gupta is listed among the most expensive tattoo artists in the world. He charges $450 an hour for the session and $200 for consultation. Clients book six months in advance to get appointments.
- He is also known as the H.R. Giger of tattoos, who favours a mix of fantasy, horror, and biomechanical tattoos.
- During an interview, Anil shared that he considered Lee Jong-gu and Derek Hess his favourite visual artists.
- In his leisure time, Anil loves to do photography.
- One of his renowned tattoos includes a 1974 Grateful dead album cover for a client that looked even more real than the original.
- In an interview, Anil revealed that the popular tattoo artists Guy Atchison and Paul Booth insisted he gets inked; however, he decided to stay tattooless for many years.
- Gupta organizes several tattoo workshops in which he teaches about 2-dimensional biomechanical designs.