Jef Geys (BELGIAN, B. 1935)

Jef Geys is considered one of the most important Belgian artists of his generation. Since he appeared on the art scene at the start of the 1960s, Jef Geys has conceived of his entire oeuvre as an evolving project that combines a conceptual attitude, educational activity and formal experimentation. It the 1960s he began mapping out possible types of learning, putting to good use his position as a professor of art in Balen, which he held until 1989. From the start, Geys affirmed a radical independent position and developed an unprecedented approach to collective creativity, setting his work against institutional authority. In 1993 Geys was the guest curator of the exhibition What Are We Having for Dinner Tonight, at Witte de With, Rotterdam. Jef Geys' work has been exhibited worldwide at venues including the International Center of Photography, New York (2008); Marfa Gallery, Texas (2007); Orchard Gallery, New York (2007); IAC, Villeurbanne (2007); Pori Art Museum, Pori (2005); Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2004); Documenta 11, Kassel (2002); Kunstverein, Munich (2001); Le Collège - Frac, Champagne-Ardenne (1995); Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (1992); and São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo (1991). Geys will represent Belgium in the 2009 Venice Biennial.