Vita – Herman Geys

Herman Geys

* 02.08.1954 Brussels

Affable Anarchist and artist who borrows and steals unscrupulously from every style, from the richness of every culture, from his own creative mind and thus opens up a wide range of influences and techniques in his work. In all this he is initially somewhat addicted to oil paint and turpentine. And that difficult word: “Tolerance”.. That is the line that runs through his entire oeuvre. He builds this therapy on a synthesis of Buddhist thought, the evolutionary psychology of the brain, the theory of the mind and the indisputable importance of art and creativity. The basis of the combination of these principles are the value and power of compassion, tolerance. It reminds us of our ability to grow. He is Anarchist because silence is not an option. Communication is needed. That is why he uses Creativity as a language.

His first exhibition, as part of a group exhibition, was in 1980 in Hoeilaart (Belgium). From 1980 to 2018 he exhibited in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Serbia, Palestine, Spain, Portugal, Italy.

It has been a long, not always easy road. Due to circumstances – amongst others no workshop since 2018 – his visual production slowed down and he choose to write as a creative interim solution. Creation remains vital to him, as a visual artist, as a writer, as a musician and as a person. Now, since mid-2020, he lives with his partner Inma Navarro in Dénia. He has a workshop again there again, and called it “Atlantis”, a name to which one can perhaps attach mythological stories, although it is mainly an in memoriam to his warm friend, called Atlantis, who died this year and who keeps on living in Brussels mythology.

Inma Navarro compiled a nice catalog in 2011 containing a large part of Herman Geys‘ work. Sometime in 2021 there will be a new one, masked and corona-free. The name of the first catalog was “Sin Fronteras”. The coming one will be called “Atlantis”.

It has been a long, not always easy road. Due to circumstances -o.a. no studio since 2018 – his visual production slowed down and he chose to write as a creative interim solution. Creation remains vital to him, as a visual artist, as a writer, as a musician and as a person. Now, since mid-2020, he lives with his partner Inma Navarro in Dénia. He has a studio there again. He gave the studio a name: “Atlantis”, a name to which one can perhaps attach mythological stories, although it is mainly an in memoriam to his warm friend, called Atlantis, who died this year and who lives on in Brussels mythology.