In search of Global Poetry: Videos from the Han Nefkens Collection

Artists: Adel Abdessemed, Anri Sala, Arash Nassiri, Barbara Sanchez Barroso, Deimantas Narkevicius, Fabien Rigobert, Pipilotti Rist, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Shirin Neshat, Sojung Jun, Zhou Tao, Gerald Van Der Kaap, Zwelethu Mthethwa
Curators: Hilde Teerlinck, Eduardo Carrera R, Feng Boyi, Gou Xianxu


The exhibition In Search of Global Poetry: Videos from the Han Nefkens Collection, shows a selection of 13 videos at the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Quito, Ecuador. Han Nefkens, the well-known Dutch art collector and writer, began building his collection in 2000, and has worked selectively with art museums and other institutions worldwide to exhibit his collection.

From different parts of the world, such as Iran, Switzerland, Lithuania, the United States, Algeria, China, among others, these artists have diverse origins and belong to different generations. Each offers an original narrative, but they manage to do it in an unusual way, mixing real life and fiction, meaning and sensitivity. The works of this exhibition are rooted in specific regional cultures, while providing a global cultural vision that allows us to appreciate and understand the ways in which these artists use the visual language methods of video art to express their poetic attitudes and imaginations. In this way we can not only see the progress of technology and the emergence of art with video and cinema, but we are also exposed to new territories and themes for aesthetic reflection and traditional methods of artistic production.

These works create a relationship between the artist, the viewer and the virtual space of the video, as well as scenes and situations that offer a way of liberation within the relationship between the “I” and the “other.” Through the virtual world of video, artists and spectators are detached from the heavy world of reality and create an out-of-this-world scenario, a garden, a shelter.

The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo of Quito is focused on the contemporary art scene in the city and its development, and has worked to promote the exchange and promotion of contemporary art between Ecuador and the rest of the world. On this occasion, we have the opportunity to work together with the Han Nefkens Foundation, presenting 13 videos from its collection.

Organizer: Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Quito
Co-organizer: Han Nefkens Foundation, Barcelona
Special thanks to: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam & He Xiangning Art Museum, China
Art Directors: Han Nefkens (Han Nefkens Foundation) & Andrés Palma (Fundación Museos de la Ciudad)
Coordinator: Belén Santillán
Venue: Gallery 5, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Quito