COLLAGE PORTFOLIO
SAM GEUENS
PREFACE
Welcome to my first collage portfolio. Since 2016, I am cutting and pasting with paper, scissos and glue on a regular basis. And before the period of 2016 until 2023, I was for another 8 years very much into concert photography. But after my music photo exhibition in November 2016, my main visual creative output became collage making. Since then I have created more than 350 collages and have exhibited 3 times collage artworks in the European cultural melting pot of Brussels, where I live and work.
Most of my collages also get scanned to make prints in various sizes. My original collages vary between 10 cm to 75 cm height. Most of them were made between 2018 and 2021 and specifically I was very productive during the Covid pandemic. I started making collages though already in 1999, but it took a long time to restart this hobby in the summer of 2016.
But all these numbers do not tell you why I like making collages and how I work. Neither you get to know my favourite topics and the artistic motivation behind the artworks. For all that kind of information you simply need to continue reading the images of this portfolio book. Many of my collage works are inspired by my personal interests and were made in 1 single day. Often they also refer to what was happening in the world at that moment.
Some of my collages contain words or cut-out letters from old advertisements, retro magazines or vintage books. This is probably due to the fact that I am a retro and vintage herder and also a graphic designer. I love searching for the right font. And somehow, I like the old school fonts more than the modern ones. Same for colours and other graphic elements. No flashy, bright colours but something with a history or evidence of having been used in the past.
That brings us to another important element, my favourite topics. Instruments, old cameras, boats, retro cars, travelling, skateboards, surfing, the sun, the moon, the sea. With those bricks I try to build a house where I feel home and can talk about something that is in my mind or in the news lately. Climate change, the environment, racism, freedom, music, poetry, love.
ACTIVIST COLLAGES
The first category in this portfolio contains my activist collage works which have a deeper ground and try to judge a certain topic in our society, in our daily life or in the world around us. Very often I try to bring a worldly message but with a dry sense of humour or via a funny image. Despite this lightness I hope they do make people think about the topic and create an incentive for change. Among these diverse topics you will see climate change, capitalism, war, freedom, human respect, nature, heritage, environment, mass tourism, etc.
List with collage details
page 4
Walk The World (Sweden)
2017 [collage #33] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 5
Eye Watch
2019 [collage #47] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 6
Take A Walk On The Wild Side
2023 [collage #291] - 50x75 cm, paper, glue
page 7
More Fun On The Edge
2019 [collage #39] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 8
Take The Off-Road
2018 [collage #91] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 9
In Water We Trust
2023 [collage #258] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 10
'21 Buckle Up
2021 [collage #247] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 11
More Windmills
2019 [collage #149] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 12
Nieuwe Maan (New Moon)
2021 [collage #206] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 13
Eye Penny
2021 [collage #214] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 14
Those Who Dream Too Small
2020 [collage #152] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 15
Play M
2018 [collage #105] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
ENTERTAINING COLLAGES
Besides works with an activist message or with a deeper meaning for the viewer, there is also a category with more "entertaining collages". These works are mostly based on improvisation, a focus on aesthetics, colour combinations, graphic experiments or just having fun. Here I differentiate two subtypes based on the background material: paper collages and collages on wood, mainly skateboards.
Paper
The first type of collages are perfect to be on postcards and poster prints or to be used as framed wall decorations.
Wood
The second type originate often from used skateboards that I first clean up partially or fully. Having been a passionate skateboarder in my teens myself, they represent a part of my personality and express underneath also the desire to dream and fly. I call them "spaceboards" instead of skateboards.
List with paper collage details
page 17
Flagey
2023 [collage #255] - 30x40 cm, paper, glue
page 18
The Tree Of Life
2022 [collage #260] - 30x40 cm, paper, glue
page 19
The Mr. Lami 2019 [collage #199] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 20
Film
2022 [collage #235] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 21
Date Filmed 3/15/71
2018 [collage #107] - 50x75 cm, paper, glue
page 22
Brussels By Day (Martini) 2020 [collage #180] - 50x75 cm, paper, glue
page 23
Moonchild nr. 1 2021 [collage #207] - 40x50 cm, paper, glue
page 24
Medusa The Greek Dream part 1 2018 [collage #161] - 40x50 cm, paper, glue
page 25
Walk The World (Germany) 2017 [collage #36] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
List with wooden collage details
page 27
Caracalla nr. 2
2020 [collage #293] - 20x40 cm, wood, paper, glue
page 28
Spaceboard nr. 1: East, West, Home Best
2020 [collage #215] - 20x80 cm, wood, paper, glue
page 29
Spaceboard nr. 2: Mission To Mars
2020 [collage #216] - 20x80 cm, wood, paper, glue
page 30
Spaceboard nr. 3: Art Déco Board
2020 [collage #217] - 20x80 cm, wood, paper, glue
page 31
Spaceboard nr. 4: Sun And Forest
2020 [collage #218] - 20x80 cm, wood, paper, glue
page 32
Black T Board
2019 [collage #197] - 20x80 cm, wood, paper, glue
page 33
Afro Board
2018 [collage #193] - 21x30 cm, wood, paper, glue
COLLAGES INSPIRED BY MUSIC
Apart from the previous 2 groups of collage artworks, there is a third group of more personal and subjective collages. These works can be grouped under the umbrella name "collages inspired by music". They are more autobiographical because as an amateur, musician, dj, singer-songwriter and music addict this topic lies very close to my heart.
For example, by re-using one of my old and damaged music wall posters as source material, I can express how much some music bands or their songs have moved me or motivated me in life to improve my music skills and to express myself with poetry or melodies.
List with collage details
page 35
Funkyman
2018 [collage #34] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 36
The Red Cave
2018 [collage #97] - 30x40 cm, paper, glue
page 37
Fab
2018 [collage #56] - 30x40 cm, paper, glue
page 38
Music Mania
2019 [collage #335] - 30x40 cm, paper, glue
page 39
De Roma Playgirl
2022 [collage #253] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 40
Jazz Off
2018 [collage #21] - 15x20 cm, paper, glue
page 41
Jazz Au Moulin Rouge
2020 [collage #274] - 30x30 cm, paper, glue
page 42
Reissue Nr. 1
2020 [collage #180] - 30x30 cm, paper, glue
page 43
Reissue Nr. 2
2020 [collage #181] - 30x30 cm, paper, glue
page 44
Reissue Nr. 3
2020 [collage #182] - 30x30 cm, paper, glue
page 45
Cahier De Pons
2022 [collage #232] - 21x30 cm, paper, glue
page 46
Ten & Zen
2020 [collage #175] - 50x75 cm, paper, glue2018 [collage #161]40x50 cm, paper, glue
page 47
Bienvenue Au Mont-SaintMichel
2018 [collage #103] - 30x40 cm, paper, glue
page 48
Circus Du Jazz Vinyl
2019 [collage #100] - 30x40 cm, wood, paper, glue
REFLECTIONS AND CONTACT
DETAILS
I get inspiration from some famous collage artists like Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Satchmo (Louis Armstrong) and Karl Waldman but also from more recent collage artists like Eugenia Loli and Hollie Chastain.
On a more personal and local level, I would like to thank Annemie Maes, aka collage artist The Green Fairy. We worked together on some past collage exhibitions. We challenge and inspire each other and we continue searching together artistic opportunities to express ourselves.
A big thank you goes to my wife, Inès Lili, for giving feedback, advice and support towards my creative passions. Also to my parents and all other friends who stimulate me to keep on creating new works, visiting my website or commenting on my Instagram channel.
All collages and images: copyright Sam Geuens 2016 - 2023
Follow me on instagram.com/samgeuens @samgeuens
Check out my new website: samgeuens.com
My other creative output can be found on:
Music & Poetry vi.be/sammyboyblue sammyboyblue.bandcamp.com
Photography samgeuens.be/flickr samgeuens.tumblr.com
Contact and more information: sam@samgeuens.be
Collage below: "From Dusk Till Dawn" (2020)
Collage front cover: "Self-portrait" (2016)
