The way Manny Valerio sees his art, the best tattoos illustrate a personal story.
“I think they should be mementoes of your life,” Valerio says. “They should say something meaningful about who you are and align with your experiences and values.”
The ink on Valerio’s body reflects the same thoughtful, artistic approach he takes when creating the finely detailed ink work he offers clients at the Sovereign Gallery, his six-year-old East Putnam Avenue tattoo studio and art gallery.
Take his first tattoo—rap lyrics he had etched onto his torso while a 16-year-old student at Stamford’s Westhill High School. “To be honest, it’s probably not the best tattoo,” he laughs, noting there’s even an embarrassing typo in the lyrics. “But it’s important to me, and I still love it, because it reflects a place and a time that was so much a part of me. It reminds me of being a kid, hanging with my friends, playing basketball and having fun.”
He embraces the same nostalgia for the tattoo of an avocado he sports on an ankle. It honors a beloved Dominican grandmother, who lived until 109 and always served fresh avocado slices alongside simple meals of rice and beans during his family’s visits to her mountainside island village.
More prominent in Valerio’s personal ink gallery are the words “Ambition” and “Grateful,” tattooed like rings on his fingers.
The conspicuous hand art speaks to his equally bold (and risky) decision to open a tattoo studio along a retail landscape largely populated by luxe home design studios and clothing boutiques.
“Greenwich might not seem like the kind of place that would welcome or support a tattoo business, and we had landlords on Greenwich Avenue say, ‘You can come here, but you can’t put the word tattoo in the window,’ Valerio says. “I believed if I could bring a high level of artistry to the business and the right aesthetic and vibe, we could succeed. And we have exceeded our expectations.
Indeed, the award-winning tattoo artist, who has trained with some of the best tattooists in the country and developed his own international fan base, believes the gallery is thriving for reasons ranging from a generational shift in body art acceptance to his entrepreneurial instincts and a diverse team known for their high-level artistry. “We like to think we’re a good surprise that makes Greenwich a little more interesting.
“We pride ourselves in being Greenwich’s premier tattoo studio, but we’ve become more,” Valerio explains. “We are an art gallery that also exhibits the work of other artists, which says something about how seriously we take what we do. One of the reasons why I love working here is because what we do is so unexpected and elevated. We have clients in town who are CEOs and celebrities and professional athletes. We have people who fly in to get work here. The other day, we had a sneaker designer, a botanist and a zoologist all getting tattoos at the same time.”
“But I think the thing that everyone we work with has in common is that they value what they put on their body,” he says.
Valerio’s path to the Sovereign Gallery was a circuitous one. He emigrated from the Dominican Republic as a toddler with his parents, the family settling on Stamford’s West Side, close to the Westover Elementary School, which he eventually attended. Early struggles learning English, helped cultivate his creative side. “My teachers would say, ‘He’s quiet, but always drawing.’ I think I couldn’t communicate well, but was good at observing.”
Inspired by his parents’ immigrant ambitions, tireless work ethic and success, he shelved early dreams of art school and a career as an illustrator or graphic designer for seemingly more pragmatic plans to study engineering at the University of Connecticut.
Then came a creative detour: Valerio bought an RV and spent 18 months touring national parks and the studios of the talented tattoo artists he admired in each of the 48 contiguous states he visited, taking time to do hands-on work in each.
“They all had different styles, but I learned something from each and every one of them,” he says of the adventure that kept him on the road until 2018. “And by the time I was done, I had my own style. And I even had a following.”
That following led him to launch Sovereign Gallery, where he now works alongside fellow artists Thomas Bork and Marcos Silvera, as well as frequently rotating the roster of guest artists who come from far-flung places to see local clients. Each team member works in a distinct style, drawing on versatile talents that meld traditional and innovative approaches to tattoo design. Silvera is known for his strong work in color. Bork excels at delicate imagery, including botanical illustrations and geometric designs. Valerio’s clients seek him out for his precision work in black and gray realism as well as his exceptional abilities in portraiture.
“I think we’ve all developed our strengths by doing what comes most naturally to us,” Valerio says. “And that gives our clients a lot of options in terms of developing their own aesthetic. They come here knowing they are leaving with more than a tattoo. The quality and the intention put into the art matters
to them.”
Thinking of Inking?
If the answer is yes, the team at Sovereign Gallery offers these tips for anyone considering body ink.
• Have a Plan
The gallery team offers consultations, which Valerio recommends to anyone considering tattoos.
• Get a Quote
Tattoo work can be nuanced and complex. Some small designs can be more intricate than larger ones, so understand that tattoo art is often billed based on the hours it takes to complete a design rather than its overall dimensions.
• Cultivate Your Style
Much like painters, tattoo artists often have distinct approaches to their inkwork, each yielding distinctly different aesthetic results. Consider whether you want something delicate, bold, black and gray or colorful. “Do your research, and know what you like,” says Valerio.
• Start small
For anyone squeamish or rightly worried about a tattoo’s permanence, some diminutive starter art is the way to go. Avoid a first tattoo on frequently exposed areas such as the neck, hands, wrist, arms, shins and ankles.
• Prepare for the Ouch
“I tell people if they tell themselves, ‘It’s going to hurt a little bit but I’ve got this, they’ll do well,’ says Valerio. “We work really hard here to make the experience as comfortable as possible, and I think most people find it tolerable. We play good music, have good conversation. We have had people laying on the table for hours without a complaint.”
• Avoid Mixing Ink and Romance
Case in point: The gallery client who got a tattoo of her boyfriend’s name a scant month before their unexpected breakup. “I see tattooing the name of a significant other on your body as a kiss of death,” says Valerio. “You can get rid of tattoos, but the process isn’t easy.”
• Spell and Fact Check Everything
Valerios’s first tattoo contains a typo. The word “fulfill” was erroneously spelled “fullfill.”
So he stresses the importance
of the not-so-small details.
“I know people who have gotten important dates and people’s names wrong.”