Matsuo Basho's Pond II Painting by Socrates Geens

Traveling the outer and inner world for many years makes Socrates into a unique artist. He was born in Belgium in 1960. His inner quest made him leave for India at the age of 18, visiting ashrams and sacred places.

He studied art at the St. Lukas Higher Institute for Art in Brussels, and became a bachelor of fine arts in 1985. He taught at the St. Lukas Academy for a few years, but decided to leave for the East once again.

During his many years in India at Osho's ashram and his travels to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Tibet, he deepened his understanding of color and geometry and researched their correlations to symbolism and the archetypes in sacred art.

Most essential, however, was his own unfoldment through meditation and spiritual practice. On the 20th of January 2009, after fourteen days of retreat in complete darkness, his consciousness merged with absolute consciousness and he was blessed with Grace.
Soon afterwards he decided to move to a small mountain village in the High Black Forest in Germany, where he presently lives and works.

The creation of each new art work is a project, including research and different studies regarding composition and color. The technical workflow is being determined, before executing the actual art work.

Socrates’ keen interest in different materials makes him experiment with different media. He mainly paints with high quality acrylics, often enriched by gold or palladium leaf, or Indian woven textiles…

Many of his works are made up of countless layers of transparent or semi-opaque paints and varnishes, creating a luminous depth. The painting surface is Belgian linen mounted on wooden stretcher bars, but there have been a few works on wood as well.

After years of experimenting, the artist keeps refining his unique and elaborate painting technique in order to capture the visions of his inner eye. How to depict the different energies and their relational patterns, which we sense behind the apparent? How to express men’s discoveries on the spiritual quest? These questions have captivated mankind from the beginning, and are the subject of many art treasures. The results can be found in monasteries, temples, mystery schools and sacred places all over the planet.

These artworks were not created to be aesthetically pleasing only. They are of a cosmological and cosmographical nature, endorsing the divine essence of existence. At the same time, they map out our own micro cosmos. Such works of art mirror the various aspects of our own body-mind and consciousness. As such they are significant tools on the path of unfoldment of the human potential.

It is the artist’s wish to contribute to sacred art in an empowering and refreshing way. He chose to call his artwork “sacred gates”. They are an invitation to explore this endless mystery called “Life”.

• Nationality: BELGIUM
• Date of birth : 1960
• Artistic domains: Works by artists with a certified artist value, Works by professional artists,
• Groups: Certified Artists Professional Artist Contemporary Belgian Artists