Han Nefkens (born 1954) is a
Dutch writer and art collector. Nefkens purchases and commissions international contemporary art with the specific purpose to give it on long-term loan or donate it to museums.
Born in Rotterdam in 1954, Nefkens studied journalism in France and the United States. He worked as a radio correspondent in Mexico for eleven years. He discovered in 1987 he was HIV-positive.
In 2001 he started the H+F Collection of contemporary art, which consists of photographs, videos, installations and paintings by – among others –
Jeff Wall
Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he helped define the Van ...
,
Sam Taylor-Wood,
Bill Viola,
Shirin Neshat and
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...
.
Nefkens places them on long-term loan to museums in the Netherlands and abroad, including the
Centraal Museum in Utrecht, Rotterdam’s
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...
and
FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais in Dunkirk.
In 2006, Nefkens set up ArtAids, a foundation that uses art in order to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and improve the lives of people living with HIV.
In addition to being a collector and patron of the arts, Nefkens is also a writer. His first book, ' ("Blood Brothers"; 1995), is a semi-autobiographical novel about two brothers who are both infected with the AIDS virus. This was followed by a collection of short pieces,' ("Two Empty Chairs"; 2005). The book ' ("Borrowed Time: Notes on a Recovered Life"), which was published in 2008 and has been translated into Spanish, is a report of the lengthy recovery process of Nefkens' HIV induced encephalitis.
"Giving is one of the most underrated values in society", Nefkens says. "By setting up something that I can share with others, I become part of the world. Sharing is the antidote to loneliness, when you share you are not alone."
Bibliography
References
External links
Han Nefkens FoundationArt AidsHan Nefkens work* [http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/2010/05/17/pagina-25/81151780/pdf.html?search=han%20nefkens/ Interview with Han Nefkens:“It awakened in me the desire to share” - La Vanguardia - 15 March, 2010]
Interview with Han Nefkens: Han Nefkens: “I’m more of a guardian than a collector” - El País - 14 August, 2010Henny de Lange interview with Han Nefkens: "Art is an enrichment of life" - Trouw - 30 October, 2010
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1954 births
Living people
Writers from Rotterdam
Dutch art collectors