Don't let the ordinary apartment exterior fool you. Umbrella Arts Gallery on 317 East 9th Street in NYC is home to some of the most talented artists the city has to offer. The gallery features polished wooden floors and white-bricked walls that are currently adorned with white framed photos of beautiful, exotic and unique people covered in little clothing and an array of ornate ink.

The current featured artist, Rocio Segura, showed an interest in black and white photography featuring tattooed subjects while studying at the School of Visual Arts. "I would hang around tattoo shops and just take pictures," says the artist regarding her start. After seeing her work her SVA professor, Harvey Stein, encouraged her to continue the project and is the curator for the exhibit now featured at the Umbrella Arts Gallery. Segura says of the exhibit, "I mean, I started this when I was just a student and the reality is that I am STILL shooting." As for the gallery, "it gets pretty busy. A lot of people come to the show and I hope that continues.

As for some of her current and future subjects, "I would love to shoot celebrities eventually but it's a step-by-step process. I'm still working on it."  One of her most recognizable photographs is a large man tattooed from head-to-toe holding a teacup puppy, "Sometimes people with tattoos on their face can be stereotyped as scary but he was so awesome and sweet. The dog and the owner were really so similar". And as for the artist herself, she's no blank canvas, "I have a rose and an owl on my side. It hurt so much and all I could think was 'what am i doing?'" 

Only having been here for over a year, she has held numerous group and solo exhibitions in countries as diverse as the U.S., Italy and her native Spain. "I feel like I need to do much more," she says of her future goals. 

Her NYC Exhibits entitled "Body Craft" and "When We Dream..." can be viewed from April 4 - 28, 2012 at the Umbrella Arts Gallery. 

Rocio Segura can be reached at hello@rociosegura.es and her website viewed at www.rociosegura.es. The gallery website is www.umbrellaarts.com