The Others
Meet The Others: MOTZY – Katie Molloy
The Game Changers. The Rule Breakers. The Innovators. Discover some of the fantastic emerging talent showcasing their work at The Other Art Fair.
MOTZY – aka Katie Molloy, is a Sydney-based artist. She has been part of the creative and design industry in London and Sydney for the last twenty years and is completely immersed in creativity, art & design and contemporary culture on a daily basis. Categorising her style as minimal graphic, her work explores the intersection between colour and shape through layering and abstraction.
Q&A with the Artist
Tell us about who you are and what you do. What is your background?
I am a Sydney-based artist. I have been part of the creative and design industry in London and Sydney for the last twenty years, so completely immersed in creativity, art & design and contemporary culture on a daily basis. I categorising my style as minimal graphic, exploring the intersection between colour and shape through layering and abstraction. I predominantly works with acrylics on canvas or wood.
I am originally from Adelaide, where I studied business and commerce before realising my passion lay in the creative industries. I began my career at Ogilvy in London and have worked for leading creative companies in the UK an Australia ever since. When I am not leading global brand innovation projects or collaborating with designers, directors and animators around the world, I interprets the world using intensely vivid shapes and fragments through my paintings.
How did you first get interested in your medium and what draws you to it specifically?
Painting is something I’ve always done. I grew up in a house of creative academics – my father heavily into folk music, my sister into music and fashion design and my mother a drawing and crafts. So it’s something that just always happened in our home.
I love the focus of painting and creating something that can truely impact how people feel and their energy when they enter a room.
My artworks are open to interpretation – they are a window to a new way of experiencing the world through shape and colour.
Where do you draw inspiration from and what does your work aim to say?
There is an element of escapism to my work. I’m inspired by my kids, urban live, travel, landscapes & nature – anywhere where I am removed from the productive day-to-day. I paint to capture the feelings and memories elicited from these experiences.
My artworks are open to interpretation – they are a window to a new way of experiencing the world through shape and colour.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an artist and how did you overcome it?
Thinking I am not an artist and it’s just a hobby, because I didn’t study fine art. I got over it by painting more. People really engaging with my work and loving and wanting to be a part of it. I realised if I love it and my buyers love it, so who cares! It’s about the joy it illicits and nothing else.
Who are your biggest influences and why?
I love modern contemporary abstract artist. My favourite artists at the moment are William Le Chance & Jasmine Mansbridge.
What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Stay focused on what you do. Don’t try and be someone else or paint what you think others want.
Shop artwork by MOTZY and other trailblazing artists at The Other Art Fair’s Online Studios.
Introducing The Other Art Fair Online Studios, a new online platform offering art lovers around the world access to over 800 Fair artists. The Online Studios will keep our community feeling inspired, engaged, and continue to spread joy through art.
