Tymon de Laat

Tymon de Laat is a visual artist and muralist who works and lives in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The harbor city bursts with life and creativity, developing his unique urban contemporary art, while he literally leaves his mark on the city itself. However, it is not just his hometown that is an essential part of his work, as de Laat's work is strongly influenced by his deep love and appreciation for Latin American, and especially Mexican, culture.

After graduating from the Willem de Kooning Academy, de Laat decided to travel to Latin America. It turned out to be a year-long journey and living on a relatively meager travel budget, this made him realize that he didn't actually need a lot of money to feel fulfilled. Rather, he found joy in interacting with the local people.

When he finally returned to Rotterdam, he could do nothing but pay tribute to Latin America, the part of the world that gave him so much insight into how he saw himself, the world at large and the art he wanted to create. De Laat began painting murals and canvases, often based on his own photographs of the people he met during his travels. He exaggerates the natural lines of their faces, filling the spaces that appear between the swirling lines with strokes of vivid color. The line work and color palette he uses in that way is a means of translating his memories of Latin America into visual images. The food, the architecture, the clothing, and especially his respect for the culture of indigenous people; it's all in there, while de Laat transfers it to enliven dreary western concrete.