Colour has marked man
Leo Schatz (1918-2014), was a painter, illustrator and poet. ‘Colour has marked man’ (‘Kleur heeft een mens getekend’) is the title of the monograph published by the Leo Schatz Foundation in 2003, about his life and work. The title refers to the anthology, ‘Het dier heeft de mens getekent’ (The animal has marked man’) by Bert Schierbeek in 1960.
The title ‘Colour has marked man’ ‘marks’ the artist and is therefore a characteristic one to use for the Leo Schatz pedestal. The text reflects the drama of his life for one thing, and reflects the processing of his personal experiences in imagery and language. The grey scale of the material – colourless concrete – also contributes to stratification, in particular to this aphorism in high relief.
MS
Photo
‘Colour has marked man’, column, 80cm x 80cm x 40cm.
Biography
Leo Schatz (1918-2014), was a painter, illustrator and poet. Leo Schatz was an active member of the socialist AJC (Arbeiders Jeugd Centraal) (Workers Youth Central) and sat exams for the School of Applied Art (now Rietveld Academy) in 1939.
In the Second World War Leo Schatz went into hiding and worked in the resistance by forging documents. His parents and twin brother did not survive the war. After the war he began to paint in abstract and married Sonja Kopuit in 1948. They had two daughters: Henriëtte and Irma (1949-1984). Leo Schatz painted and taught at the Rietveld Academy. His daughter Irma, also a painter and illustrator, died from a heart-lung disease in 1984.
Leo Schatz exhibited in various museums and galleries in the Nineties and Noughties, such as the Singer Museum in Laren, Gallery Krikhaar, Amsterdam and the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen. After his wife Sonja Schatz-Kopuit died in 2003, he also began to write poetry.
Artwork: You Are Here
Artist: Martijn Sandberg
Material: concrete
Measurements: (lxwxh) 80cm x 80cm x 40cm
Project: Legacy of the Twentieth Century
Realisation and completion: 2019
Location: Oranje Vrijstaatkade, Oostpoort, Amsterdam
Commissioned by: Amsterdam Municipality, District Oost