Artist Statement

Pia Roque is a Filipina artist born in Rizal, Philippines and currently based in Houston, Texas. Currently, she is one of the resident tattoo artist at Violet Tiger Tattoo Parlor in downtown Houston. She is also a freelance visual artist. She has obtained an Associate’s of Arts Degree from Lone Star College in Spring, Texas where she received a full Chancellor’s Fellowship scholarship including an International Research Capstone in Italy which toured in Rome, Florence, Sienna, Naples, Venice, Bologna, Pisa, and Pompeii. Roque attended the University of Texas (2019) in Austin, Texas for her BFA in Art Education before dropping out for personal reasons and to pursue her dream of tattooing full time as a career.

Roque’s artistic works revolves around the merging of the digital age in the current world, particularly the conversation of artificial intelligence and simulations. Her work is also experimenting with issues of mental health and the possibility of emotional intelligence in artificial intelligence. As for tattooing, Roque chose this career because it is a very human line of work - as of now.

Roque has exhibited her works in Austin at the Dude Ranch Gallery, The University of Texas, and the Texas Capitol. Furthermore, she will be a part of many group exhibitions and art festivals as well as an upcoming solo exhibition this year in Houston.