Kari Barba (born July 10, 1960) is an American

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

and painter from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Barba has been practicing art for over 40 years and is best known for her work for women within the tattoo industry. Barba is based in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. She is the owner of Outer Limits Tattoo, the oldest tattoo shop in the United States.

Background

At 19 years old, Barba began her tattoo art career. In 1980, she moved from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

to California to pursue tattooing full time. By 1983, she opened her first tattoo shop in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, Twilight Fantasy. From the beginning, Barba prioritized hiring female tattooers in order to diversify the notoriously male industry. Since 1985, Barba has earned more than 500 awards for tattoo excellence. She won the Best Tattooist and also Best Overseas Tattooist twice. In 1985, she won Best Black and Grey Tattoo in Seattle, WA. In 1987, she won her first National Tattoo Associations' Tattooist of the Year. Barba is known for her illustrative realism style. She is one of the first artists to tattoo in the style of color realism. Barba was one of the first tattoo artist to wear gloves and wrap her equipment, and therefore recognized for spearheading the sterile standards in the tattoo industry. Her accomplishments include the acquisition of a historically important tattoo shop and museum. In 2002, Barba acquired 22 S. Chestnut Pl in Long Beach. The location, originally opened by renowned tattooist

Bert Grimm Bert Grimm (born Edward Cecil Reardon, later known as Bertram Cecil Grimm, February 8, 1900 – June 15, 1985) was an American tattoo artist considered the "grandfather of old school". Grimm's work contributed to the development and popularity of ...

, has operated as a tattoo shop since 1927. The shop also houses a tattoo museum paying tribute to

The Pike ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and artists past. A silicone arm tattooed by Barba was featured in an exhibition at the

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large coll ...

in 2018. Barba is regularly part of the jury of experts for the Mondial du Tatouage in Paris, France. Barba's 4th and final apprentice was tattooist Jenny Nguyen.

Exhibitions

*2021 "Art Under the Skin", Caixa Forum Museum,

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

*2018 "Tattoo", Museum of Natural History,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

*2017 "Tattoo"

Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

*2014 Tatoueurs Tatoués, Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Paris, France

Personal life

Barba's son, Jeremiah Barba, is a tattooist and shop owner.

References

External links

* https://www.outerlimitstattoo.com/bio-of-kari-barba {{DEFAULTSORT:Barba, Kari 1960 births Living people Artists from Minneapolis American tattoo artists

Background

Exhibitions

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links