Antonio “Macko” Todisco was born in Monopoli in 1980. He grew up sourrounded by art, watching his grandfather paint, listening to classical music and drawing alongside him. After completing Arts High School and graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, he returned to Puglia, back to his people. During a trip to Asia he bought his first tattoo machine out of sheer curiosity. It is a life-changing move: after only a few months he decided to quit any business to dedicate himself completely to tattooing. From his first trip to Los Angeles in 1994, he connected with the city’s art scene: from graffiti to cholo writing, from gang symbology to lowrider art.
Although he has never had a real apprenticeship, he has always looked to the masters of Chicano art and the Californian black and grey scene, trying to grasp their codes and magic. Those were all elements that he then reinterprets with his own sensibility, also enhanced by his solid academic foundation. He has authored two flashbooks on Chicano art and his work appears regularly in international publications. He takes part in many conventions around the world, regularly winning awards and recognition for his very personal black and grey.
