Once reserved for religious ritual and later provoking scandal and intrigue, the practice of tattooing has become de rigueur. Everyone and their mom seems to be getting inked with symbols both meaningful and really stupid (we see you, Graham Platner). “Marked,” at Studio Place Arts in Barre, takes a deeper look at the art form’s inspirations, with varied contributions such as Elizabeth Fram’s embroidered octopus on hand-dyed batiked silk and M.F. Cardamone’s spare, flash-like collage featuring a rose and a dragon. The show also encompasses graffiti art, its gestural characters provoking pieces such as Orah Moore’s graphite-and-photo drawing “Passing by the Railcar, Barre.” Several Vermont tattoo artists present works, and one of them is pictured: Dierdra Michelle paints her partner, Yankee Tattoo’s “Bald Bill” Henshaw, enjoying a glass of wine in the garden, wearing nothing but a fedora and a whole lot of art.
‘MARKED’ On view through April 18 at Studio Place Arts in Barre.
This article appears in March 11 • 2026.
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