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”.
Leandro Erlich
Leandro Erlich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973 and currently lives between Paris and Buenos Aires.
He is one of Argentina’s most internationally renown contemporary artists. Through his installations he reconstructs reality, drawing audiences into his optical games.
His recent exhibitions include Leandro Erlich: Swimming Pool at the PS1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, 2008-2010; El consultorio del psicoanalista at the Fundación Proa in Buenos Aires, 2009; La Torre at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) in Madrid, 2008; Pequeños modelos de grandes proyectos at the Nogueras Blanchard gallery in Barcelona, 2008; Leandro Erlich at the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (MACRO) in Rome, 2006; Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Miami, 2006; Brito Cimino gallery in São Paulo, 2006; Le Grand Café in Saint-Nazaire (France), 2005, and El Ballet Studio, Centre d’Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona, 2003. He also took part in the Prospect 1 biennial (New Orleans, 2008), the 2nd Singapore Biennial (2008), the 5th Liverpool Biennial (2008) and the 26th São Paulo Biennial (2004).
He has won many awards including the Joan Mitchell Foundation Prize (2001), the Unesco Award at the 2001 Istanbul Biennial, the Leonardo Award from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires (2000) and the Eliza Randall Award from the Core Program at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts (1998).