Geran Knol (Makkinga, the Netherlands, 1991) is a multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Antwerp, Belgium. His practice spans drawing, painting, sound and sculptural work.
Until the age of 17, Geran Knol lived with his family in a little village in Friesland, a northern region of the Netherlands. After graduating from high school, he chose a different path and took his first steps into the world of art.
He is also involved in Park Pardon, a collaboration with Bloeme van Bon. He received a BA in Illustration at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Zwolle (the Netherlands) in 2012, and a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from Sint Lucas in Antwerp (Belgium) in 2015.

Geran Knol’s work constitutes an ongoing investigation into shape and form. Within his imagery, a recurring figure merges with its surroundings and resists personification. He often works in series, setting himself specific rules or constraints. These self-imposed limitations function as a framework for exploring variations within a world of endless possibilities. It is precisely from limitation that new ideas emerge: repetition leads to purification, but can also become problematic. When something begins to feel like a trick, Knol deliberately shifts to a different creative path. Although his practice is largely two-dimensional, the haptic qualities of materials play a crucial role in shaping the final image.

Geran Knol takes it very seriously to not take himself too seriously. An abstracted figure, which could be read as a self-portrait, often serves as a starting-point. His practice is rooted in continuous exploration and variation of material, shape, and what he describes as a ‘complicated simplicity.’
A recurring atmosphere of loneliness, melancholy, and naïveté runs through his work; combined with his visual language, this can be perceived as either cynical or humorous—an essential contrast within his practice.

A five minute pencil drawing can carry the same weight as a painting that took three months to complete. Knol seeks to create connections between new and older works, gradually building a single, expansive body of work in which elements—whether thematic or related to shape and color—reference one another. The result is a world that feels deeply personal while retaining an abstract quality.

Since he began working with textiles around 2022, Knol’s work can largely be divided into planes and lines. The works in which he stitches lines using a sewing machine originate from spontaneous charcoal drawings. The fabric collages, composed of textiles and patterns, emerge from planes and are conceived primarily as compositions. In these works, he deconstructs the fabric, exploring how to appropriate it and push it toward abstraction.

His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Europe.
( s o o n ) gallery is proud to present Geran Knol’s first solo exhibition in Belgium!