FILIPPO iOCO
FILIPPO iOCO
By Karala Barendregt
Photo by: Glenn Inskeep
Filippo Ioco is one of the most important and outstanding body painting artists of all time. His work covers an extraordinary range of styles and ideas, and is groundbreaking across the whole spectrum. It is his combination of experience, understanding, inspiration, innovation and courage that has kept his work at the top for almost two decades.
“Professionally I've been body painting for 20 years now but I've been a Fine Artist / Painter most all my life. I am able to carry that knowledge, technique and style over into my body art which sets me aside from other body painters. I've always wanted to work with the human figure but never really knew how until one day I thought of painting a body into one of my canvases and from that day on I became a body painter.”
Body painting is an art form where an artist can create with the traditional elements of colour, composition and idea plus add the limitless elements of movement and human emotion.
After decades of hard work from artists like Filippo, body painting has become a recognised and important art form in many areas of the arts today reaching out into the fashion, advertising industries as well as movies, theatre and the performance art world. Filippo is one of the few artists who are able to work in all of these areas with varying aspects of his creativity. His client base reflects the wide range of areas he has had an artistic influence on.
His advertising portfolio contains some of the most successful combinations of body art for the media. His work has been featured in music videos, on book covers, on television,commercials, printed media and almost anywhere the eye can look. He is at home working with celebrities on live television with and audience of thousands, or in a personal environment with an audience of two. Filippo also dedicates a large amount of his artistic energy to charity work. No matter what the project he is working on the final product is always a perfected art work.
A lot of Filippo’s personal work explores gender roles and sexuality through the male and female shapes and how they are perceived. His work presents fascinating questions about gender and its role in society. He has placed the painted human body in every imaginable environment from natural to totally artificially created environments to frame his ideas.
“I have always been fascinated with the human body and nudity. I believe that it is truly the first form of Art. We all come in different shapes, sizes and skin colours. I think that we should all be proud of our bodies no matter how big or small every body has its own beauty.”
For those lucky enough to get the chance, watching Filippo paint live is like connecting with creation itself. His performances and models are spontaneous and alive. The documentation of his artwork through photography and video is lasting evidence of a long career of talent that continues to evolve today. For people familiar with the body painting world he is an icon, and for those new to the industry he is role model and inspiration.
“My life is all about art, colour and visual stimulation. If you were to take away art I would be gone as well.”