Background

The work of Bas Geerts is characterized by an openness of form, a kind of agility that manifests itself on several levels simultaneously.

In the first place, there is the play of colors. Bright hues enter into a synthesis and optically blend into new shades. Each color seems to be in motion and seemingly wants to assimilate with its complement - no doubt also the result of the use of pure pigments in paint, made by Geerts himself. Secondly, the painting itself seems to change according to the position the viewer takes to the work: is he looking at the canvas at an angle or straight, is he standing near or far? The reflection of the metal leaf will constantly change, while the lines of the composition, still clearly discernible up close, merge into a continuous whole at a distance.

In addition, the openness of form is reflected in the way the composition of the paintings is created. In fact, each design is generated by a computer program written by Geerts himself. Since several parameters in the algorithm are determined at random, the program constantly displays new images. In this way, Geerts is creator of a work of art that, as it were, wasn’t made by himself: he executes what he had not anticipated in a concrete sense.

In this work process, the difference between intentionality and happenstance blurs: the artist takes responsibility for the unexpected as much as for the preconceived, while the viewer himself can directly influence what he sees. It is therefore Geerts' view that the final result is not his mere responsibility; the idea of control as such is an illusion.
-------
Bas Geerts (born 1971, Leiden, the Netherlands) is a visual artist, music programmer and writer. Geerts studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in the analysis of contemporary music. For a resume click here.