Antun Motika (Pula, 1902 - Zagreb, 1992) studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb under prof R. Valdec in 1921, and later decided to switch to painting, graduating in1926 from the class of prof M. Vanka and Lj. Babic. Between 1928 – 1929 Motika published caricatures in the satirical magazine Koprive / Nettles, under the pseudonym of Shovel. Between 1929 – 1940 he was a high school teacher in Mostar, and between 1941 - 1961, Professor at the School of Applied Arts in Zagreb. Motika's art derrived from the post- impresionistic tradition of European painting. After his arrival in Zagreb, he painted his first abstractions and began to experiment systematically with collage, decalcomania,  photo-graphics, smoke and organic materials. From1953 he commenced working in glass. During his earlier period Motika was attracted to experiments with textiles, and after the 1960s, in iron.