Own Tradition
PittaKKM is a tattoo artist based in Los Angeles and Seoul, reinterpreting traditional Korean art through the language of contemporary tattooing. Since dedicating himself fully to the craft in 2015, he has built a singular visual world rooted in Dancheong — the ornamental painting tradition of Korean temple architecture — and Obangsaek, the five cardinal colors of white, black, blue, red, and yellow.
His work is defined by densely layered patterns, precise linework, and a vivid command of color. Cranes, phoenixes, tigers, dragons, haetae, and clouds are rendered not as quotations of the past, but as living forms — traditional iconography rebuilt through a modern eye. He draws freely across boundaries, folding Western fine art and Americana motifs into a Korean aesthetic framework: "I mix everything I can with Korean aesthetics."
His practice extends beyond skin. Through original artwork, object series, art toys, and apparel, PittaKKM is building Dancheong into a contemporary visual brand — carrying a heritage once reserved for temple beams into everyday culture. He works from two homes: nonfromseoul, a tattoo studio and multidisciplinary cultural space in Los Angeles, and MIZANGWON, his private studio in Seoul.
For PittaKKM, tradition is not something to preserve behind glass. It is something to own, to use, and to send forward — an archive built for the future.