Wim Motz - Original ink drawing on paper "Merwe haven rotterdam" signed

• Wim MOTZ (Rotterdam 1900 - Rotterdam 1977)

"When I paint I am happy." Wim Motz showed an enormous productivity during his life. His work ethic led him from impressionism to expressionism, from pure abstraction back to recognizable reality. His rebellious nature is betrayed in his working method. Wim Motz, a graphic artist as well as a painter, put his subjects on canvas and paper with dynamism and passion. It was not until he was 37 that Motz, born in Rotterdam, began his career as an artist. He took drawing lessons from Jan van Straten. In Motz found Van Straten a grateful pupil, who tried to catch up enormously. His education up to that point consisted only of primary school. After that, several jobs followed. "I worked in a market garden, as a fairground traveller, but also in the mines of Belgium . I worked as a merchant on the market and later went into wallpapering and painting." His never-ending urge to express himself in the visual arts led him to a new existence, that of an artist. And not without success. He exhibited in America, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. Van Straten taught him what visual art is. "At first I thought it was about copying, but with him I learned that you have to experience it yourself." Initially Motz painted non-lifelike, but still easily recognizable scenes, such as harbor and industrial views. He made four years (1954- 1958) part of the group 'De vier Rotterdammers'. From the figurative and immediately recognizable he then switched to total abstraction. As a member of the 'Ara-groep', he mastered the technique of lithography. In addition to color lithographs he also made black and white lithographs. He had already mastered the technique of linocuts. By abandoning figuration, Motz was able to devote himself entirely to line and colour, the basic principles of art. He blossomed into a true emotionalist. With much passion, in a passionate way, he put his subjects on canvas and paper. For his paintings he used a masonry technique. Just like his great example De Sta_l he applied the paint with a spatula the canvas. He was also called the 'Painter of colour'. Although Motz can be considered an abstract genre, the impressions of the landscape, in particular the water landscape, the harbours and the river formed the source of his inspiration. In the mid-sixties he made room for figuration in his work again. "I have a desire for recognizable forms again (....) I want to meet the viewer." Text: Corien van Eyck van Heslinga