INTRO - ENG - Wolters

Mon Wolters (1937-2004) was born in Beugen Rijckenvoort. Wanting to escape the textile industry that seemed to be the destiny of everyone in his family in Enschede, his father decided to start his own business. This allowed the Wolter's family  to lead a comfortable life where Mon would often see his mother, a sensitive, delicate woman, play the piano. At a young age, Mon attended private art classes at boarding school and his skills drew the nuns' attention. Mon's sister Henriette was ten years his senior and in his younger years they had little contact with each other. However, after his academic studies were over Mon and Henriette went travelling together through Spain, nurturing a life- long bond. Mon would regularly visit her in Spain where Henriette had eventually settled. From 1953-1957 Mon Wolters studied at the Academy of Arts and Industry (AKI) in Enschede. Led by Jake Hardy, the charismatic teacher and later Director of AKI (1968-1980,) Mon developed a painting style known as "New Figuration" which was led by artists including Alphons Freymuth and Lucassen. The inner necessity of his work showed surprising similarities to the bursting vitality of artist Wim Isaac (1950-1989) who later attended the academy. The art developed at the Academy of Art and Industry, which was founded in 1949, had a profound effect on Wolters' own personal development and he viewed Fine Arts as central to his personal growth into a free and enterprising individual.  Mon viewed the Academy as endorsing those techniques and skills that encouraged personal development, freedom and independence. It is therefore not surprising that after his academy studies he set of on an adventure, travelling to Greece, Spain, Israel, Italy and Morocco, occasionally working on ships to earn some money. As a conscientious objector he spent some time visiting a military psychiatric hospice along with Jan Montijn. Later they  lived and worked together on Oude Zijdskolk, 28, in Amsterdam. In this building, a former six storey warehouse artists including Lucassen, Zoltan Peeter Huisman and Harry resided and worked for some time.