# Paul Rotterdam

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**Paul Rotterdam** (born 12 February 1939 in [Wiener Neustadt](/source/Wiener_Neustadt) as Werner Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam) is an Austrian painter. He currently resides in New York and Texas.

## Biography

Werner Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam was born and grew up in [Wiener Neustadt](/source/Wiener_Neustadt), Austria, which was heavily affected by bombing during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). After the war ended, in 1945, Rotterdam fled with his mother and sisters from the advancing [Red Army](/source/Red_Army) to western Austria, which was occupied by American troops. There, he encountered African American soldiers for the first time, who helped the struggling family with food — an experience Rotterdam later described as an "encounter with angels." In 1947, the family moved to [Leoben](/source/Leoben).

In 1960, after finishing school in Leoben, he moved to Vienna to take courses at the *Akademie der angewandten Kunst* and enrolled at the *University of [Vienna](/source/Vienna)* to study [philosophy](/source/Philosophy) from 1960 to 1966 , focusing on visual theories in his dissertation. In 1961 he had his first exhibition of paintings at the Galleria Numero in [Florence](/source/Florence). In 1962 he had his first exhibition in Vienna.)[1]

1965 he was selected to represent Austria at the *Fourth Biennial of Young Artists* in [Paris](/source/Paris) and at the *Eighth Biennial of International Art* in [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo). Several solo exhibitions followed in Florence, [Graz](/source/Graz), and Vienna. In 1966 he received a [PhD](/source/PhD) in philosophy from the [University of Vienna](/source/University_of_Vienna).[2][3] In 1967, he married his first wife, Heidrun Vogelberg. Their daughter Charlotte was born in 1969.[4]

In 1968, Rotterdam was appointed Associate Professor at the Visual Arts Center of [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge,_Massachusetts), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts). In 1975, he also held a visiting professorship at the [Cooper Union School of Art](/source/Cooper_Union) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). After a creative period in Paris in 1977, during which he exhibited at the Piltzer and Maeght galleries, he published a book featuring drawings and texts by Kenneth Wahl.

In 1979, Paul Rotterdam was awarded a one-year visiting professorship at the [University of Texas at San Antonio](/source/University_of_Texas_at_San_Antonio), where he also co-authored the book Fourteen Stations of the Cross with Alvin Martin. That same year, his marriage ended.

From 1973 onward, Paul Rotterdam lived in a loft on [West Broadway](/source/West_Broadway) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). He taught at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) during the spring semesters. After concluding his teaching career in 1987, he retired to a farm in the [state of New York](/source/State_of_New_York), where he worked in his studio.[5]

In 1986/87, the artist traveled extensively to the copperplate printing workshop of Rolf Meier in [Winterthur](/source/Winterthur) and illustrated [The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge](/source/The_Notebooks_of_Malte_Laurids_Brigge) by [Rainer Maria Rilke](/source/Rainer_Maria_Rilke). In 1994/95, Paul Rotterdam returned to Vienna, where he gave 14 lectures during the spring semesters at the [Academy of Fine Arts Vienna](/source/Academy_of_Fine_Arts_Vienna). In 1996, he married the painter Rebecca LittleJohn. In 2004, [Prestel](/source/Prestel_Publishing) (Munich/New York) published a catalogue raisonné of his paintings and sculptures from 1953 to 2004. In 2007, a retrospective exhibition of his drawings was held at the [Leopold Museum](/source/Leopold_Museum) in Vienna. In 2014, he published a collection of public lectures in English ([University of Chicago Press](/source/University_of_Chicago_Press)) and German ([Hirmer Verlag, Munich](/source/Hirmer_Publishers)) titled Wild Vegetation – From Art to Nature. In 2017, he held an exhibition together with Rebecca LittleJohn at the Museum of the City of [Leoben](/source/Leoben).

In 2024, Paul Rotterdam published the book Nightbow and Other Events, containing autobiographical texts, reflections on art, and reproductions of his works.[6]

In 2024, Rotterdam donated 29 paintings and drawings to the [Lower Austrian](/source/Lower_Austria) State Collections to strengthen the presence of his work in [Austria](/source/Austria). This gesture was particularly important to him as it fulfilled a wish of his mother, who had always regretted that most of his works remained in the [United States](/source/United_States).[7]

Rotterdam annually spends several weeks at the Benedictine Abbey of [Seckau](/source/Seckau) in Austria for peace, quiet, and reflection.[8] He owns an extensive collection of [African masks](/source/Traditional_African_masks).[9]

## Style

His paintings are [abstract objects](/source/Abstract_objects), mostly [monochromatic](/source/Monochrome) or reduced in color. Physical forms extend from the canvas into space.

Art critic [Dore Ashton](/source/Dore_Ashton) writes about his style:[10]

His idea of the painter’s mission resembles Rilke’s statement in a letter to his wife, that reality is not a lingering in dreams, intentions, or moods, but their transformation into real things. Rotterdam is a modern painter (although he questions his modernity and sometimes even provocatively denies it), creating images that are self-contained, physical entities. He is compelled to transform his intense emotions into tangible form.

Around 1980, his minimalist style began to expand and increasingly incorporated elements of nature.[11]

After the end of his teaching career at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), Rotterdam increasingly turned toward impressions of nature, without relying on realistic representation. In the so-called *Blenheim Series*, he developed an independent artistic reality, in which emotion and the search for form became central.[12]

## Awards

- 2006: [Kulturpreis der Stadt Leoben](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulturpreis_der_Stadt_Leoben)
- In 2007, he was awarded the [Austrian Decoration for Science and Art](/source/Austrian_Decoration_for_Science_and_Art).[13]

## Exhibitions

Numerous solo exhibitions in galleries and museums. Selected group exhibitions include: 1975: Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Art, [Whitney Museum](/source/Whitney_Museum), [New York](/source/New_York_City). 1976: Artists-Immigrants of America 1876–1976, [Hirshhorn Museum](/source/Hirshhorn_Museum_and_Sculpture_Garden), [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.) 1980: American Drawing 1970–1980, [Brooklyn Museum](/source/Brooklyn_Museum), New York. 1986: National Drawing Invitational, [The Arkansas Arts Center](/source/Arkansas_Museum_of_Fine_Arts), Little Rock. 1991: *Le Cabinet des Dessins*, [Fondation Maeght](/source/Fondation_Maeght), Saint-Paul, [France](/source/France). 1997: The New York School, [Museum of Contemporary Art](/source/Museum_of_Contemporary_Art_Tokyo), [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo), Japan.

## Works in Public Collections

[Albertina, Vienna](/source/Albertina). Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge. [Birmingham Museum of Art](/source/Birmingham_Museum_of_Art), Birmingham. [Brooklyn Museum](/source/Brooklyn_Museum), New York. Cornell University Art Museum, Ithaca. [Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art](/source/Crystal_Bridges_Museum_of_American_Art), Bentonville. [Des Moines Art Center](/source/Des_Moines_Art_Center), Des Moines. Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge. [Fondation Maeght](/source/Fondation_Maeght), Saint-Paul de Vence. [Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum](/source/Solomon_R._Guggenheim_Museum), New York. [Hirshhorn Museum](/source/Hirshhorn_Museum_and_Sculpture_Garden), Washington, D.C. Joanneum Universal Museum, Graz. [Leopold Museum](/source/Leopold_Museum), Vienna. [The Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art), New York. [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art), New York. Musée de Nice, Nice. Musée l’Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Les Sables-d’Olonne. [Centre Pompidou](/source/Centre_Pompidou) ([Musée National d'Art Moderne](/source/Mus%C3%A9e_National_d'Art_Moderne)), Paris. [Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal](/source/Mus%C3%A9e_d'art_contemporain_de_Montr%C3%A9al), Montreal. City Museum of Leoben, Leoben. [Lower Austrian State Museum](/source/Lower_Austria_Museum), St. Pölten. [Ohara Museum](/source/Ohara_Museum_of_Art), Tokyo. [The Arkansas Arts Center](/source/Arkansas_Museum_of_Fine_Arts), Little Rock. The National Museum of Art, Osaka. The Power Institute of Fine Arts, Sydney. The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson. [Walker Art Center](/source/Walker_Art_Center), Minneapolis.

## Publications

- *Paul Rotterdam. Ausstellung 1965.* Exhibition catalog, Galerie im [Griechenbeisl](/source/Griechenbeisl), 1965.
- Carl Aigner (ed.): *Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam. Worklist. painting, sculpture, projects. Werkliste. Malerei-Skulptur-Projekte. 1953–2004.* With essays by Dore Ashton, [Konrad Paul Liessmann](/source/Konrad_Paul_Liessmann), Joachim Rössl, [Manfred Wagner](/source/Manfred_Wagner_(cultural_scientist)) et al., Prestel, Munich 2004 and 2007, ISBN 978-3-7913-3286-4.
- Alvin Martin: *Paul Rotterdam: The 14 Stations of the Cross.* The University of Texas, San Antonio 1982.
- Carter Ratcliff: *Paul Rotterdam. Selected paintings 1972–1982.* Storrer Edition, Zürich 1982.
- Joachim Rössl, Dore Ashton: *Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam. Ausgewählte Arbeiten, 1969–1989.* Edited by the Department of Culture of Lower Austria, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-85460-005-4.
- Kenneth Wahl: *Paul Rotterdam: Selected drawings 1974–1977.* Storrer Edition, Zürich 1977, .
- Townsend Wolfe: *Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam. A Drawing Retrospective 1969–1994.* The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock 1995.
- *Paul Zwietnig Rotterdam: Wilde Vegetation – Von Kunst zu Natur.* Hirmer Verlag, München 2014, ISBN 978-3-7774-2228-2.
- *Paul Rotterdam: Nachtbogen – The Nightbow and Other Events.* Hirmer Verlag, München 2024, ISBN 978-3-7774-4402-4.

## Audio

- [Heinz Janisch](/source/Heinz_Janisch): *Substanz – Der Maler Paul Rotterdam.* [Menschenbilder](/source/Menschenbilder), 4. Oktober 2009.[14]
- [Ö1](/source/%C3%961): *Gedanken – Über das Geistige in der Kunst,* 2. Februar 2025.

## References

1. Brigitte Borchhardt-Birbaumer (30 August 2007). ["Substanz des Lebendigen"](https://www.tagblatt-wienerzeitung.at/startseite/archiv/96693_Substanz-des-Lebendigen.html) (in German). *Wiener Zeitung*. Retrieved 2025-07-21.

1. ["Artworkarchive Paul Rotterdam"](https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/van-every-smith-galleries/artist/paul-rotterdam). Retrieved 2025-07-21.

1. ["Artnet Paul Rotterdam"](https://www.artnet.com/artists/paul-rotterdam/biography). *Artnet*. Retrieved 2025-07-21.

1. ["Biography of Heidrun Rotterdam"](https://professorsemeritus.columbia.edu/people/heidrun-rotterdam). *Columbia University*. Retrieved 2025-07-21.

1. Galerie Erich Storrer. ["Biographical Data Werner Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam & Works in Museums and Public Collections"](https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034417/http://www.galeriestorrer.com/galerie_erich_storrer_storrer_gallery_zurich/Artists_files/Biograpy%20P.R.pdf). Archived from [the original](http://www.galeriestorrer.com/galerie_erich_storrer_storrer_gallery_zurich/Artists_files/Biograpy%20P.R.pdf) on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 2025-07-21.

1. ["Paul Rotterdam: Nachtbogen – The Nightbow and other events"](https://www.hirmerverlag.de/uk/titel-1-1/paul_rotterdam-2620/). Hirmer Verlag. Retrieved 21 July 2025.

1. "Der Maler-Denker, dem ein Wunder geschah". *Kurier*. Kurier Medienhaus. 5 January 2025.

1. Michael Huber (4 January 2025). ["Paul Rotterdam: Der Maler-Denker, dem ein Wunder geschah"](https://kurier.at/kultur/paul-rotterdam-portraet-maler-philosoph-harvard-new-york-niederoesterreich/402994438). *Kurier*. Kurier Medienhaus. Retrieved 21 July 2025.

1. ["Zeichnungen von Paul Rotterdam im Leopold Museum"](https://www.derstandard.at/story/2918928/zeichnungen-von-paul-rotterdam-im-leopold-museum). *Der Standard*. Standard Verlagsgesellschaft. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2025.

1. Dore Ashton: *All painting is initiated in paradox.* In: Carl Aigner (ed.): *Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam. Worklist. painting, sculpture, projects. Werkliste. Malerei-Skulptur-Projekte. 1953–2004.* With essays by Dore Ashton, [Konrad Paul Liessmann](/source/Konrad_Paul_Liessmann), Joachim Rössl, [Manfred Wagner](/source/Manfred_Wagner_(cultural_scientist)) et al., Prestel, Munich 2004 and 2007, ISBN 978-3-7913-3286-4, p. 45.

1. Alvin Martin: *Paul Rotterdam’s new Romanticism.* In: Carl Aigner (ed.): *Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam. Worklist. painting, sculpture, projects. Werkliste. Malerei-Skulptur-Projekte. 1953–2004.* With essays by Dore Ashton, [Konrad Paul Liessmann](/source/Konrad_Paul_Liessmann), Joachim Rössl, [Manfred Wagner](/source/Manfred_Wagner_(cultural_scientist)) et al., Prestel, Munich 2004 and 2007, ISBN 978-3-7913-3286-4, p. 144.

1. "Der Maler-Denker, dem ein Wunder geschah". *Kurier*. Kurier Medienhaus. 5 January 2025.

1. [BMUKK](http://www.bmukk.gv.at/ministerium/vp/2007-2008_pm/20070903.xml) Arts Minister Claudia Schmied presented the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art to Paul Zwietnig-Rotterdam; the laudation was given by Joachim Rössl, 3 September 2007.

1. [ORF Ö1](http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/144606.html)[dead link] Heinz Janisch: Substanz. Paul Rotterdam. Ein österreichischer Maler in den USA. Menschenbilder, 4. Oktober 2009.

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