The Art of the Leu Family

Eva died days after her 90th birthday, on 5/4/15.

My father's mother is Eva Maria Aeppli, who is a fine artist. She is my only living grandparent currently and I only met her one time in my life, when I was 17 and visiting France.

(Past note: I only know one generation up from her, so I have been trying several research routes to find out more. I located a microfilm through the LDS Family History Center that supposedly has some research on the Swiss Aeppli family. It's going to be a process; the microfilm has many images of handwritten index cards, which are difficult to read, and they don't have a printer.)

Eva Maria Aeppli

father Aetti Willi Aeppli

mother Martha "Mono" Hess

born 5/2/1925 8:20pm?
died 5/4/2015

place Zofingen, Switzerland, canton Argau

nationality Swiss

first marriage late Hans Felix Leu, my paternal grandfather, architect

second marriage late Jean Tinguely, famous Swiss kinetic artist

current marriage Sam Mercer, attorney

occupation fine artist

children Felix Vital Leu, Miriam Tinguely
grandchildren Jane Leu Rekas, Filip Leu, Ama Leu, Aia Leu, Ajja Leu
http://leufamily.info/history/

Zofingen, Switzerland


Born in Zofingen, she spent her childhood in Basel where she attended the School of Decorative Arts. Later, in France, she began her artistic career as a painter. Aeppli then became interested in sculpting figurines in textile and in bronze.

In 1975, she discovered astrology thanks to Jacques Berthon and the painter Eric Leraille. Fifteen years later, she decided to combat poverty, oppression and ignorance by creating the Myrrahkir Foundation. Eva Aeppli currently lives in Normandy, France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Aeppli

Born in Zofingen on 2 May 1925, Eva Aeppli was raised in Basel where she attended the Rudolf Steiner School and, between 1943 and 1945, the School of Design where she met Jean Tinguely. In 1946, she married the architect Hans Leu; a son, Felix-Vital Leu, was born. She married Jean Tinguely in 1951; a daughter, Miriam-Eva, was born to them. She met Daniel Spoerri in 1952. In 1953 she and Jean Tinguely moved to Paris and very soon after into an atelier in the Impasse Ronsin. She met numerous artists as well as Pontus Hulten, Pierre Restany and Iris Clert. She embarked on her own artistic career and started her “Livres de Vie”. After her separation from Tinguely she worked in various ateliers in Paris; she destroyed the majority of her drawings and paintings. In 1960, she married Samuel Mercer and lived with him henceforth either in Omaha or in the surroundings of Paris. She met Jean-Pierre Raynaud in 1964; their first collaborations saw the day. From 1975 on, she got deeply interested in astrology and collaborated with the astrologist-psychoanalyst Jacques Berthon and the painter Eric Leraille who later produced sky paintings that were often exhibited with her bronzes. In 1990, she set up the Myrrahkir Foundation to combat oppression, poverty and ignorance. Her astrological cycles were exhibited in the space for astrological art founded in Omaha in 1985 by Samuel Mercer. Her short stories, „Le Mot Tombé Du Ciel“, were published in 1989. She became a member of Amnesty International and supported its aims. In 1990-1991 she worked on a joint project with Jean Tinguely; the “collaborations” developed. She participated with 16 textile sculptures from her „Groupe de 30, 1972“ in the „Cyclop“, the monumental sculpture jointly carried out with numerous friends in the forest of Milly.
In 2001, she moved to Honfleur.

Eva Aeppli’s œuvre consists of drawings, paintings, small figures, textile sculptures and groups of figures as well as bronzes. Her works have been exhibited in museums and art galleries since 1954. Comprehensive retrospective showings of her works were held in 1993 in Stockholm, in 1994 in Solothurn and Bonn. The Moderna Museet Stockholm houses a major group of her works and others are to be found in numerous museums and collections.

http://www.tinguely.ch/global_img/exhibitions/aeppli/bio_aeppli_e.rtf

Eva's Astrology chart

Eva's painting of her chart

Sun in Taurus, Moon in Virgo *Ascendant in Scorpio, Mars in the Eighth House *Sun in the Sixth House *Venus in the Sixth House *Moon in the Ninth House *Saturn in the Twelfth Househttp://myjaneaology.blogspot.com/2011/11/aunt-miriam-tinguely.html

Eva Aeppli: Les Livres de Vie - Die Lebensbücher by Andres Pardey André Kamber (Jan 1, 2006)

The Art of the Leu Family by Aia Leu (Dec 22, 2012)

The Art of the Leu Family