A classically trained artist with a strong background in tattoo art, Julien Jaca’s paintings are raw, intimate and emphasize the material of the artwork – yet they are filled with stories, playfulness and feeling. A fascinating aspect of Jaca’s art is the way he fuses high art and tattooing; his monumental paintings contain the subjects of classical tattoos, such as skulls, flames, tribal motifs and classical cartoon characters, elevating them to the sphere of high art and showing the beauty of cultural heritage, whether it be popular culture or fine art - every means of human expression contains a particular kind of beauty, a language, and reflects a history. However, it is not only the subjects that reflect his background in tattooing – also the formal expression of the paintings and their materiality evoke the world of classic tattoos. Often using a flesh-colored base for his paintings and drawing his subjects with an airbrush, giving them a blurry, fuzzy look – like that of an aged tattoo – it is as if the canvas itself becomes flesh, and the paintings real, living tattoos. Even the cracked texture of the paint mimics the surface of skin seen at a macro level. Thus fusing artistic innovation and personal fervor, Julien Jaca is at the forefront of the development of contemporary painting. Julien Jaca (b. 1985 in Toulouse, France), Julien Jaca studied for four years (2008-2012) at the Toulouse School of Fine Arts before deciding to leave the academic sphere of art to become an international tattoo artist. He has exhibited his paintings in the USA, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Dubai, Hong Kong and Australia since 2021.