User:Doc.Heintz/Filip Leu

Filip Leu (* 1967 in Paris) is today considered one of the best-known contemporary masters of tattoo art; Tätowier Magazin describes the tattoo artist from Switzerland as one of the greatest tattoo artists of our time, who is characterized by an unmistakable style, superhuman patience and a crazy pace of work.

Life
Filip first grew up in Paris. He is a grandson of the Swiss artist Eva Aeppli and her first husband, the architect Hans "Johnny" Felix Leu (December 1, 1925 - March 14, 2001).His parents Felix Leu (alias Don Feliz, 1945-2002) and Loretta (* 1945) were traveling artists. They met in New York City in 1965. Until 1978, they traveled and lived in America, Europe, North Africa, India and Nepal and had four children (Ama, Aia, Filip and Ajja) who were all born on the road. They also learned the art of tattooing and eventually tattooed for a living. With his father Felix Leu and his mother Loretta, Filip began practicing the art of tattooing at a young age. The Leu family had settled in Goa and Filip drew tattoo designs for his parents' customers.

The tattoo artist
From the age of majority, Filip traveled to Japan and the USA to meet some of the more famous tattoo artists of the time. He completed his training with Horiyoshi III in Tokyo, among others, worked for Ed Hardy in his Realistic Tattoo Studio in San Francisco and learned how to make tattoo machines from Paul Rogers. In 1981, the Leu family decided to settle in Switzerland, where they founded the Leu Family Iron Tattoo Studio. In 1986 Filip joined the family business in Lausanne and developed his own style; "a sensitive meeting between traditional Japanese art and a contemporary approach to traditional tattooing and iconography from the philosophy of biomechanics."

The studio
The studio, called The Leu Family's Family Iron, is located in Bullet, a town of around 650 inhabitants near Sainte-Croix VD. An old house with green shutters stands on a hill. The entrance is hidden. The studio used to be a ski store and was converted by the Leus themselves.

Exhibitions (selection)

 * Filip Leu presented a work in the exhibition "Tatoueurs, tatoués" at the Musée du quai Branly from May 2014 to October 2015.
 * For issue 23 of the magazine HEY! modern art & pop culture, Leu realized an exclusive series of 16 paintings, 8 of which were presented in the exhibition HEY! modern art & pop culture - Act III at the Museum of the Halle Saint Pierre from October 2015 to March 2016.
 * From March 3, 2021 to October 31, 2021, the Museum Tinguely hosted the exhibition Art Leu Family. Caresser la peau du ciel was on display.
 * From February 8 to June 2, the tattoo exhibition at the Caixa Forum in Palma will feature works by Filip Leu.

The Leu Family
The Leu clan is known above all in tattoo circles, where it has worldwide star fame." Felix Leu, the son of Eva Aeppli, and his wife Loretta, traveled the world in the late 1960s and well into the 1970s, making a living from their tattoo art. The three generations of the family currently working as artists include, among others. Loretta Leu; Filip and Titine Leu; Ama, Doug, Summer and Poppy Leu-Wilson; Aia, Steve, Fayet and India Leu-Allin; Ajja and Tanya Leu; Jane Leu Rekas; Miriam Tinguely (daughter of Jean Tinguely); Rolf Kesselring; Cajun Leu and Chloé Liberge; and Cressa McLaren.

Reviews
Filip Leu and his family are considered legends in the scene. Filip learned to tattoo as a child and today has a customer waiting list of several years. He is the idol of many tattoo artists.

- Bettina Bestgen SRF 2017

Literature

 * Guido Costa (author), Henk Schiffmacher (author), Miki Vialetto (author), Fabio Paleari (photographer): The Filip Leu Family's Family Iron Tattoo Trolley books January 1, 2004.
 * The Great Books On The Art Of Tattooing - Filip Leu, Mosher Tattoo Books 2014.
 * Clinton Sanders, D Angus Vail: Customizing the Body: The Art and Culture of Tattooing. Temple University Press 2008, ISBN 1-592-13889-6, pp. 111-117.
 * Margo DeMello: Inked: Tattoos and Body Art around the World. ABC-CIO 2014, ISBN 1-610-69076-1, P. 264.
 * Susanna Kumschick: Showing tattoos. Forms of representation of tattoos in curatorial theory and practice. transcript Verlag 2021, ISBN 3-8394-6075-7, p. 89.
 * François Chauvin: Mondial du Tatouage. Hachette Pratique 2018, ISBN 978-2-0162-5602-2, p. 81.
 * Andres Pardey, Reinhard Bek, Jean Tinguely: Museum Tinguely Basel, the collection 2012, ISBN 978-3-8682-8339-6.