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Two important works by Felix Gonzales-Torres go to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Two works by Felix Gonzales-Torres from the Han Nefkens H+F Collection are given in long term loan to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

Felix Gonzales-Torres, who died of AIDS in 1996, anchored his work in an acute consciousness of duration, death, love and loss. In the form of installations, advertising billboards or - in this case - puzzles, the work of Gonzales-Torres questions the relations between the public and private spheres. Often his puzzles articulate intimate dramas, in which the clue of death is an underlying element. The fragment of a love letter, "from the war front" (see image) sharpens the consciousness of the transience or the anguish of the loss of a loved one.

The artist uses objects from daily life which he plunges into a poetic atmosphere. His puzzles however, assembled and packaged in sealed plastic, cannot be dismantled. The puzzle, which is supposed to an occasion for social exchange, becomes a collector's object, fragile and precious.

Duality is always present in Gonzales-Torres's works: two clocks, two mirrors, two pillows, two light bulbs, two beds. The feeling of solitude and loss is thus conveyed through a poetics of the absence of 'the other'.

To view the second work that goes to Boijmans click here

Text: catalogue 'The Suspended Moment' 2005
Two important works by Felix Gonzales-Torres go 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.