Brücius

Education

Born in New York State, Brücius moved to southern California at a young age. From Los Angeles, he later moved to San Francisco, living there for a couple of years before relocating to Seattle to further his education.

Brücius von Xylander attended the Art Center in Pasadena, California with a focus on Fine Art, with a minor in Architecture. His background in Art History and architecture helped his fine art career and brings another source of influence for his tattoos.

Tattoos

Brücius is known for using styles of blackline-work, scientific illustration and etching to create his tattoos. New York Artist and tattrx.com creator Morgan English wrote, “Brücius draws daily inspiration from endless sources: medieval engravings, wood-cut etchings, taxidermy, architecture, astronomy, as well as biological, nautical and anatomical illustrations. His work is an ever-evolving testament to the majesty of nature and the fascinating history of all humanity.

In his short but prolific career, Brücius has dedicated his craft to the blackwork style, which is a tattoo comprised solely of black ink with lines and dots used as an alternative to shading. In terms of his tattoos Brücius says “I love botanical and scientific illustrations. Sometimes I do reproductions of old prints, woodcuts or etchings, when I do a reproduction I like to get into the heads of the old masters. It’s just an older approach, academic way of training. Sometimes you have to make copies in order to learn how to do create something original. I'm fascinated by interesting lines, I sculpt the lines, each line has a shape.” Still young in his tattoo career, Brücius strives to further his control of the needle and line, and tattoos on with the philosophy.

Career

After completing his studies in Pasadena , Brücius worked as an artist assistant in Los Angeles doing large format graphite portraits on paper. Wanting to further his stature in the art scene, he moved to San Francisco, to pursue a career in the tattoo industry where he started a competitive apprenticeship completed in 2009. Brücius quickly rose to be a resident artist and eventually shop manager of Black and Blue Tattoo, a historic, premier shop in San Francisco. Within two years, Brücius established a special niche in the tattooing world, quickly becoming one of the most sought after artists on the West Coast for Blackwork and line-work.

In September 2015, Brücius completed an international tour, tattooing in elite European shops, which include: AKA in Neukölln, Berlin, Sang Bleu in London, Puro in Milan, and Tribal Act in Paris. In addition to his European tours, Brücius’s work has been featured by Sang Bleu, Heritage Post, SavemyInk, Solesatosfactionblog, Tattoodo, Sfist, scene360 and multiple other online/print publications.

Another focal point for Brücius' art, his connection with nature has led him to being a regular labor donor to Tatzoo, an organization that educates passionate leaders that engage their communities in conserving endangered wildlife species, that are then tattooed their sponsored animal. In addition, he performed live artistic events at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and The Wild Center, NY.

In 2017 Brücius will be opening his own tattoo studio, Black Serum, in San Francisco, CA. Brücius mission statement is, “It’s an artisanal shop, focused on blackwork tattoos and craftsmanship. The common theme will be etching, passion for nature, and a love for the arts. It will reflect the diversity of San Francisco, and we’ll also host guest artists. A Ink society for all.”

Accolades

His highly specialized blackwork style has earned him First Prize at Biennale International Tattoo in 2015 and is recognized by form.ink's Top 10 Tattoo Artists in the Bay Area. He was also recognized by Carbonated.TV as the #1 artist “that will make you wanna get inked asap.” In addition, Brücius has tattooed professional musician, songwriter Mara Hruby.