Bożebor is Adam and Olivia Chmielewski’s new tattoo studio at 800 Pike Street in Lemont, where the couple are bringing their unique vision of abstract-expressionist tattooing to Centre County.
A multi-medium artist by trade, Adam Chmielewski, 35, studied at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw in his native Poland before graduating in 2011 with a master’s degree in painting.
After graduation, Chmielewski dabbled in other mediums, including drawing, graphic design and 3D wooden sculpture, before finding his current artistic passion five years later.
“My friend came and said to try (tattooing), and there was nothing I could say against that idea,” Chmielewski said, “and I just got hooked.”
Chmielewski’s current style, he said, is inspired by American abstract expressionist painters like Basquiat and Rothko, as well as realism.
“Abstraction, for me, has always been one of the most important things to come forward in art,” Chmielewski said.
According to Chmielewski, balancing between these two seemingly disparate styles offers “the widest range of results that can come out and surprise me.”
Olivia Chmielewski, 22, a senior fine arts major in drawing and painting at Penn State, first met Adam in a pub while studying abroad in Olsztyn, Poland, in 2018.
“On our first date we went ice skating,” Chmielewski said, “and since we’re both artists we just immediately hit it off.”
The couple got married on July 5, 2021, and now live together with their husky-shepherd service dog, Blue, in Lemont.
Chmielewski initially moved to the U.S. to be closer to Olivia, and to pursue his tattoo career. He worked at Leaf and Arrow Tattoo in York and then Catharsis Tattoo Gallery in Tyrone before taking the plunge on the studio.
“It was just the best idea, since I worked for a year in Europe and she was studying here,” Adam Chmielewski said, “so it was hard for us to be separated.”
One of the main joys of owning your own studio is the level of creative freedom it offers compared to working under someone else, according to Adam Chmielewski.
“It’s all on my terms,” Chmielewski said. “It’s nice to have a zone where you’re in control of every element so if something is good you can be proud of yourself, but if something goes bad it’s on you.”
Intentionally, Bożebor is a tattoo studio, not a tattoo shop.
Chmielewski said that this distinction is central to its commitment to the fine arts aspect of tattooing, in place of accepting any idea a potential client proposes.
“We are more careful on what we’re doing. A lot of people we have to tell ’we’re not gonna do this or we’re not gonna do that,’” Chmielewski said.
According to Olivia Chmielewski, artists in tattoo shops may not have the same level of autonomy over what proposals they accept, which can limit their creative potential.
“My vision is that tattoo artists will (be able to) develop their own unique style and go down that path,” Adam Chmielewski said, “and that would lead them to better results as an artist and in the end for the customers.”
Currently, Adam handles the tattooing, and Olivia manages the scheduling and day-to-day affairs of the studio, but plans to begin tattooing once she graduates this summer.
While most tattoo artists traditionally complete an apprenticeship under another artist before working on their own, Chmielewski is confident that her art experience and husband’s tutelage will help her successfully transfer to this new medium.
“She’s going to skip all that,” Adam Chmielewski said. “I never had an apprenticeship. I was always an anomaly since I was a professional artist long before starting (tattooing).”
According to Chmielewski, this approach is more common in Europe, where students at art academies will start tattooing after graduation, as opposed to the usual American apprenticeship route.
“I’m also pretty interested in abstract expressionism, because it gives the most emotion without limitations,” Olivia Chmielewski said.
She also pulls inspiration from her formal arts education and said she enjoys abstracting elements from more traditional styles.
“I think it just comes down to having fun. You let the brushes tell you what they want to do,” Chmielewski said.
The Chmielewskis hope to incorporate their fine arts background into every aspect of their new studio.
“We have plans to invite (tattoo artists) here from Europe, people who do different styles that nobody else does,” Adam Chmielewski said.
In addition to these guest spots, Chmielewski said he plans to use his studio as an art gallery to highlight the work of other local artists, as well as their European contemporaries.
Chris Groot, 32, who was born in Frederick, Maryland, but grew up in Amsterdam, first met Adam Chmielewski after seeing his work online.
“When I first met (Chmielewski) he came across as very familiar. He’s trustworthy,” Groot said.
Groot first got tattooed by Chmielewski when he worked in York, and later followed him to Tyrone.
Now, Groot is working with Chmielewski to design an outer-space-inspired sleeve tattoo featuring rockets, satellites and planets.
“It’s a big commitment,” Groot said, “I really like his style so we just connected right away. That’s why I stuck with Adam and came all the way up here to get it finished.”
While completing Groot’s extraterrestrial sleeve will be a sizable accomplishment, Chmielewski has high hopes for Bożebor’s future projects.
“My favorite piece is in the future,” Chmielewski said, “I always look forward to the ones that are waiting to be done.”
