What You Should Know About The Abstract Tattoo Trend

Abstract art is an excellent way to decorate your wall space, whether you make it yourself or someone else creates the artwork. After all, abstract art is unique and can provoke many feelings, thoughts, and reactions. One well-known abstract artist is the late Piet Mondrian, who combined geometric details with abstract concepts and often used a grid technique, calling his art style "neoplasticism" and inspiring the later Bauhaus and Minimalist art eras, per Art in Context. Another ultra-talented abstract artist is Helen Frankenthaler, who used her unique Soak Stain strategy to create one-of-a-kind dreamy abstract paintings, often inspired by nature.

According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the early 1940s to the middle of the 1950s was when the Abstract Expressionism movement developed and thrived, becoming the much-loved art genre we know and appreciate today. Jump ahead to the 2020s, and abstract tattoos have become a popular body art trend. 

The abstract tattoo trend is a free-spirited way to show off your style, emotions, and personality through body art (via Florida Tattoo Academy). If you're an artist, you could create an abstract painting or drawing that you want to use as inspiration for your tattoo. Then, work with a tattoo artist to determine how your design will translate into a tattoo on your body. However, you don't have to be a skilled artist to rock this trend. If there's a tattoo artist you trust, you can ask them to create a design for you. Or, describe your ideal abstract tattoo and ask them to create art based on that description.

Since there's no correct or incorrect way to design an abstract tattoo, this type of body art allows for the most creativity. "Abstract tattooing is an unpremeditated free-forming design composition without formula, aka no stencil. This trend is becoming popular because it's different and nonrestrictive to a particular ideology," Brian Steffey, a tattoo artist, told Bustle. Therefore, abstract tattoos are great options for nonconformists or creative people who want something unique and nontraditional. On the other hand, people who have more logic-based, black-and-white methods of thinking may prefer more conventional tattoos.

As mentioned earlier, abstract tattoos are already becoming a trend — so they're popping up on various social media platforms. For instance, there are more than 600,000 posts dedicated to #abstracttattoo on Instagram. One of our favorite abstract tattoo designs from Instagram is a circular tattoo featuring an intriguing balance of swirly, dark lines and negative space, creating a psychedelic-like appearance.

There are also many posts under #abstracttatoo on Pinterest. One particularly eye-catching tattoo on Pinterest exudes more of a Bauhaus-inspired geometric design. Consisting of lines, squares, and other shapes in prominently primary colors that overlap, the tattoo forms an abstract collage effect from someone's upper ankle to the lower leg. There is also a plethora of abstract tattoos on TikTok, too. One standout abstract tattoo design we found on the platform is a bunch of wavy lines circling someone's arm for a bold look that isn't too over the top.