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Han Nefkens donates a piece from the Wearable Art collection by Viktor&Rolf to museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
In his show notes for the very first Viktor&Rolf Haute Couture show in January 1998, the late Richard Martin, curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, wrote: “(...) Viktor&Rolf pose clothing and they form ideas. Viktor&Rolf’s presentation mingles statue and runway, letting us see both the living statue of a fine-arts identity and the animation of a couture showing”.

For Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2015, the house of Viktor&Rolf reaffirms the roots as mapped out by Richard Martin 17 years ago. More than ever true to their core, fashion artists Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren use a mingling of fashion and art as a means of expression, presenting a collection of wearable art. Art comes to life in a gallery of surreal proportions. A dress transforms into an artwork, back into a dress and into an artwork again. Poetry becomes reality, morphing back into fantasy. Action painting meets Baroque. Paint is splattered – canvas is smashed. Cracked textile frames unleash the silhouette and create a voluminous bend of reality. Intricate motifs parade the catwalk, transforming Golden Age paintings with the rawness and spontaneity of action painting. The painterly gesture is achieved through trompe l’oeil techniques: each artwork is executed in a complex layering of laser-cut jacquards, embroideries and appliqués. Horsting and Snoeren take the stage and transform the Mezzanine of the Palais de Tokyo with a procession led by the sound of Henrik Schwarz’ melodic soundtrack.

Recognizing the artistry behind the collection, renowned art collector Han Nefkens and longstanding collaborator of Viktor&Rolf acquired an Haute Couture art piece after the collection was shown in Paris on July 8th, 2015, which will be donated to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Text: www.viktor-rolf.com

Photo: Team Peter Stigter
Han Nefkens donates a piece from the Wearable Art collection by Viktor&Rolf to museum Boijmans Van Beuningen                              
 
 
ArtAids

The ArtAids foundation was set up in 2006 at Han Nefkens’ initiative. ArtAids fights AIDS with the power of art as its most important weapon. ArtAids invites leading artists to produce work that is inspired by AIDS and related problems. These works of art are used to raise the public’s consciousness and to encourage their involvement.

Fundació Han Nefkens

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.

H+F

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.