Han Nefkens started to collect art in 2000. The H+F Collection, named after himself and his partner Felipe, is in long-term loan to various museums in The Netherlands and abroad. Nowadays Han Nefkens is not only active as a collector but also as an initiator of international art projects, often in collaboration with museums and other art institutions.
The Han Nefkens Foundation is a private non-profit organisation that was set up in Barcelona in 2009 with the aim of promoting the production of contemporary artworks. The mission is to stimulate artistic creation in Barcelona by offering international artists an opportunity to create artworks and interventions in the city, and to promote other fields of contemporary creation.
According to Han Nefkens, sharing is the antidote to loneliness, and he does so through his artistic and anti-AIDS projects and his writing. In 1995, he made his debut with the autobiographical novel Bloedverwanten (“Parents”), which was followed by Twee lege stoelen (“Two empty chairs”, 2006) and De gevlogen vogel (“The bird flew”, 2008). Nefkens also writes short pieces, “vignettes”.
General Idea
General Idea was formed in 1969 by Jorge Zontal, A.A. Bronson and Felix Partz. The artists’ collective gained an international reputation during the 1970s for its installations, performances, publications, photographic and video works that were at the very foundation of Conceptual Art and Media Art. Employing an entirely unique and innovative style, General Idea appropriated contemporary media culture and converted it into ‘works of art’ such as postcards, magazines, posters, wallpaper and balloons issued in huge quantities. In doing so they criticised the prevailing penchant for artistic originality, the commercialised gallery and museum system and the role played in it by the media. During the 1980s they used the same strategies to draw attention to the Aids problem. General Idea participated in the 2004 Access for All project.
General Idea