Efficiency is not the strong suit of Ghent artist Geert Marijnissen, who sometimes works for years on a painting, only to discover at the exhibition that it is not yet finished. “I don't work efficiently and I don't want to. I don’t mind surprise encounters.” He will soon be launching his first ten-year project, a painting he plans to update annually. Until the end of this month, his work, together with that of Gerard Herman and Julien Suadubray, is on display in the group exhibition L'Estate-Archipel in Otegem.
Where is your studio and what does it look like?
My studio is in a former veterinary school in Ghent. Myself and a number of other artists are scattered around the building. The exhibition space Blanco is also next door, where exhibitions are held from time to time. There is talk of renovating the building so it can be used as a school building again, so eventually we'll have to move.
My studio is usually a mess since I often throw things on the floor. There is not really any clear structure, so I often have to look for things or work that I cannot find immediately, which means I lose a lot of time. So, I don't work efficiently and I don't want to. I don’t mind surprise encounters, coincidences that have no direct relevance to what I'm doing, allowing my train of thought to be disturbed, which in turn can lead to new thoughts or movements.
I always have sound on because I suffer from tinnitus. I guess that's why I can't handle silence very well. I also worry a lot, which I want to distract myself from. That sound doesn’t have to be music, but can also be a podcast or abstract monotonous sound or birds chirping. There are a lot of books, figurines, stickers, wood and pictures here. I mainly work on the floor or against the wall and on several works at the same time, so the different works interact or influence each other. There is a zebra-patterned chair, two chairs, a desk and an iron rack I got from a friend to make my studio a bit more orderly.
You are a painter. Do you need a lot of natural light in your studio or are other aspects, such as enough storage space, friends and colleagues nearby or lots of greenery in the area, more important?
I don’t consider myself a typical painter. I still think I'm more of a draftsman. That is also what I was trained in and feel most comfortable doing. I think my style of painting relies more on drawing. Painting still feels exploratory and challenging to me. Drawing is faster, less weighty. A drawing can easily be overdrawn or destroyed. When painting, I like to work with the paint itself, placing layer after layer on top of each other. That makes repainting never a complete erasure because there are always traces that remain.
My studio itself is quite dark and cold. I have a large dark blue mat to protect the floor, but it keeps the light from reflecting into the room. I don’t handle bright light very well, so this set-up works for me. I think it's important that my studio is not too far from my home, especially during the winter.
As you mentioned, your work takes a long time to reach completion. Can you tell a bit about your work process? What is an average working day in your studio like?
I leave for my studio between 8:30 and 9 in the morning. I like to draw in the morning and paint in the afternoon until around 6 pm. It all depends on how much work I have and whether or not I’m making any progress. I try not to work until I’m frustrated . In such cases, I think it would be better to keep some distance and continue working at another time. I work fairly slowly because it often takes several years to finish a work. Sometimes, I exhibit something, only to realise that it is not finished after all and may not be for a while. Until suddenly that feeling seems to be gone. I never know when it will happen. I need to learn to let go of work. I'm still having some trouble with that.
Your work has been described as intuitive yet well thought-out. That strikes me as a paradox. Do you understand why people say that about your work?
I guess I'm not constantly working based on intuition. There are moments of peace and distance in which there is more slowness and doubt. I then proceed very carefully and the process is sensitive and tactile.
Your work can now be seen in the group exhibition L'Estate-Archipel. The work that struck me the most is the canvas with a gnome and rainbow on it with the text Let's die together on a high love at the top right. Let's start with the gnome and rainbow. These are things you normally see in a child's drawing. How did you end up with such naive themes?
That's a work I don't really want to talk about. I often juxtapose those playful elements with more serious elements. I also do it for my mental health and well-being. I prefer the smaller works alongside it.
Continually along those lines, what inspires you?
Books, movies, music, images, everyday things, my surroundings. I usually respond to the things I see in my studio and daily life. It's not that I have to start from scratch. It’s like engaging in a conversation with what I see, hear, feel, think, smell at that moment. For example, I recently read gay, bdsm and porn erotica and a whole bunch of drawings resulted.
I like to make reference to people close to me, whether directly or indirectly. The work The Origin of the Milky Way by Rubens in the Prado has inspired me recently, so I’m borrowing some elements from it. Inspiration can be anything. The symbolism I use can be meaningless as well as immensely valuable.
Your paintings also regularly contain words and short texts. Why?
I’m quite forgetful and it is usually things, words or phrases I want to remember. Or that I can use as a guideline. They are intended to deceive, to reinforce, or as a formal element. I find that after some time, those words, letters or sentences become more of a shape than a word or sign with meaning. They take on a physical value that has nothing to do with the meaning of the sign itself, but with the formal space it occupies in the work. That sometimes brings all the elements together. I also think that, with words, I can push people in a certain direction faster.
What are your plans for the future? Which projects do you want to carry out within the next year or two?
I'm about to start on my first ten-year painting. I'll start soon and the work will be finished in 2033. How it will work in practice is still a bit of a mystery. That will become clearer over the years. I will try to work on it for at least two months every year and always get it to a kind of finished state. And then repaint all or part of it the following year. In the interim periods, it will hang at the owners' homes.
What are you currently working on?
I have no idea! Sometimes it seems clear to me what I'm doing, but that's just the idea of being in control I guess. I often go in a certain direction without always being aware of where I am going. There are occasionally clues to follow, but I’m usually flexible.