Federico Galliani is an Italian tattoo artist working in black and grey portrait realism, and co-owner of White Label Tattoo in Cesano Maderno, Italy. He has tattooed at Villain Arts festivals across the United States since 2019 and took first place at Baltimore and at Chicago in 2025.
Judged on the floor, the same weekend the piece was tattooed. The two American first places are Villain Arts festivals.
One subject, done properly, rather than a busy composition. Reference photos matter more than anything else: a sharp, well lit photograph is what makes a portrait readable on skin ten years later.
Grey wash rather than heavy black: layers of diluted grey built up so the skin keeps its own light. It takes longer in the chair, and it is the reason the work still reads once it has settled.
He photographs his work healed, in daylight, with no filter. Those photos are here.
Radiant Colors ink, Dermalize Pro aftercare film, Seven Supply.
He also teaches the grey wash method to other tattoo artists through the Portrait Realism Academy. That is a course for artists, not for collectors: if you want a tattoo, use the booking form.
Requests go straight to Federico, not to an agency inbox. He answers from his own address.