Nicole Palapoli

Decades of painting, tattooing and teaching.

As it moves through me and onto its surface, my artwork has given my life a purpose beyond my own healing. My wish is to evoke reflective conversation, deep connections, and emotional and spiritual healing in the hearts of my viewers as we co-create a more conscious existence.

I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2002, earned my teaching certification in Art Education at Queens College, and studied abroad in Italy and Spain. After becoming a high-school art teacher for the Board of Education I felt completely restricted and needed a full-time outlet for my creativity. I was introduced to tattooing, quickly reinvented my life, and never looked back.

My tattoo style is fluid, but as it evolves I gravitate toward color portraits, pinup girls and nature-themed pieces rather than rigid geometrics. In 2012 I opened my first shop, Body Language Tattoo, in Astoria, Queens. After seven successful years I decided to close the doors in exchange for the flexibility to pursue my personal artwork. Innerspace Gallery is what that became.