LLEI D'ART 11

Han Nefkens Generosity is one of the most underestimated values in our society. Creating something that I can then share with other makes me part of the world. Sharing is the antidote to solitude. When you share, you are never alone. Han Nefkens A writer and art collector born in Rotterdam in 1954, Nefkens’s passion for art is a family trait. He created his first great modern art collection in 2001 and was awarded the GAC Prize for the Best Collector 2012 and the prestigious Zilveren Anjer (Silver Carnation) by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The latter distinction was given by the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds organization, which recognizes exceptional and altruistic contributions to Dutch culture. Nefkens looks for and selects artists with few means to help them out with their projects. If a work is of interest to him, he looks into the artist’s career and commissions work from them that is then donated or lent to museums or other art institutions. In 2006, Nefkens founded ArtAids, an institution dedicated to breaking down social prejudices toward HIV/AIDS suffers through art. His father already possessed an exquisite collection of antique and pre-Columbian art. He believes that art is something to be shared, something that can be a relief for society, and for this reason he is an art patron. He works in four Dutch museums, one German and one French one, and now has begun to collaborate with Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and the Fundació Miró. In art, is there still the concept of beauty above any other aspect? Beauty comes to you through your eyes to your brain. It is something biological, but responds to personal and cultural conditions. It is hard to give an overall idea of beauty, but I could tell you that if I see a work and I consider it beautiful, then it is. How has the recession affected art? If an artist wishes to express himself it is because he feels the need to. This is a romantic way of seeing it. The recession makes it difficult to work for lack of income. Although I don’t want to underestimate the harm it may have done, at the same time, every time of change and chaos can strengthen us and help us gain new things. The recession makes us more selective when deciding what is important and what is not. It is a kind of interval, a reflection, and that is good in this world where everything happens so quickly. It is a moment to think and see how we can all reinvent ourselves. There is always wastage when there is abundance, but now we have to be more efficient. The really important thing is to ask yourself is what you want in life and how you want to live. Should the idea be greater than the artwork, or should the artwork shape the idea? Both. There are works that the artist creates intuitively. They know what it means and do not analyse it. That is what the rest of us do. Some have an idea and find a way to transmit it, but everything comes from a feeling. For a work to be good, there has to be an idea, and a form that supports the idea. That can be either aesthetic or conceptual. There must be an idea and a way to express it. If both objectives in fulfilled, then there is a good work of art. What kind of works are you currently interested in? Our system of work is organized around scouts who look for candidates for various projects. He receives huge dossiers from Thailand, South Africa, India, and so on. They are artists to whom we otherwise wouldn’t have access to. I am interested in finding out what is happening in those countries, meeting those artists and offering them a platform to exhibit in Europe. I also want to give people the opportunity to see their work. Now, for example, we have an exhibition about an artist from Pakistan – it is good to go for them to leave their usual, normally very limited, surroundings and realize that the world is a lot bigger than we imagined. But they have to fit some kind of profile. Well, they have to be young, not more than 35, although they can use whichever technique they like. How would you define the art that is currently common in Spanish galleries? Here the galleries haven’t quite managed to take off, and it’s easy to see why. When you think of the cities where there is a vibrant, dynamic, artistic scene you think of Berlin, New York, Los Angeles or London. In all of these places there is everything: money, collectors, museums, galleries and a whole infrastructure that supports artists and art. There are so many artists and art schools that there is a great exchange between them. Even so, there is an element of luck, something that doesn’t exist in Spain. Many people have gone to Berlin, and there are whole buildings and cheap workshops where you can work – there are opportunities. And the good artists are all really disciplined. Should innovation take priority over emotion or the other way around? None of that matters. As I’ve said, the essential thing is to have an idea and find the right way to transmit it. We all have emotions but only the artist can find the perfect way to express it. Is Spanish art very different from the art that is successful in London or Berlin? The big difference is that in London, New York or Berlin you don’t just see works by English or German artist but by people who live there from all over the world. It’s very different from what you see here. People have moved away from art. There is where the educational base comes in – you have to instil the importance of art. And although contemporary art may be less accessible, in guided exhibitions, after the visit, people see things differently. Education is key. 109