Wim Motz (1900-1977)

Wim MOTZ (Rotterdam 1900 - Rotterdam 1977)

"When I paint I am happy." Wim Motz showed enormous productivity during his lifetime. His passion for work led him from impressionism to expressionism, from pure abstraction back to recognizable reality. His rebellious nature is betrayed in his way of working. Wim Motz, besides being a painter also a graphic artist, put his subjects on canvas and paper full of dynamism and passion. It was only at the age of 37 that Motz, born in Rotterdam, started his career as an artist. He took drawing lessons with Jan van Straten. In Motz, Van Straten met a grateful student, who was trying to catch up. His education until then consisted only of primary school. Several jobs followed after that. "I worked in a market garden, as a fairground traveler, but also in the mines in Belgium . I was a merchant on the market and later started 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 repainting, but with him I learned that you have to experience it yourself." Initially Motz did not paint true-to-life, yet easily recognizable scenes, such as harbor and industrial views. He made four years (1954- 1958) was part of the group "The Four Rotterdammers". From the figurative and immediately recognizable he then switched to total abstraction. As a member of the "Ara group", he made the technique of lithography his own. In addition to color lithographs he also made black and white lithographs. He already mastered the technique of linoleum cuts.By letting go of figuration, Motz was able to devote himself entirely to line and color, the fundamental principles of art. He germinated into a true emotionalist. in a passionate manner, he put his subjects on canvas and paper.For his paintings he used a masonry technique.Like his great example De Sta_l, he applied the paint with a spatula on the surface. ok on. He was also called 'painter of colour'. Although Motz can be regarded as part of the abstract genre, the impressions of the landscape, in particular the water landscape, the harbors and the river, were the source of his inspiration. In the mid-sixties, he made way for figuration within his work again. "I have again developed a longing for recognizable forms (....) I want to meet the viewer." Text: Corien van Eyck van Heslinga