The exhibition ‘The Suspended Moment’, which opens on 4 August in the Centraal Museum, brings together contemporary works of art in which time appears to stand still. All the exhibited works come from the H+F Collection assembled by Han Nefkens. 

The Suspended Moment
The artists arrest movement to produce timeless images and endless space. In opposition to the hustle and bustle of our daily routine, these artists propose the endlessness of a drawn-out experience. So Angela Bulloch brings the vast amount of visual information from television images back to their most elementary form – the pixel – and thus allows us to experience the meditative effect of alternating colours. With his flower installation ‘Deadheading’ (2003), Otto Berchem alerts the viewer to the brevity of human life. Karin Sander freezes moments in the lives of various people by reproducing them with a 3D camera and advanced technology. In ‘Hold your breath and think about Spinoza’ (1998), Erwin Wurm turns the visitor into a temporary sculpture.
 
Touring exhibition
All the works come from the H+F Collection assembled by the collector, patron and writer Han Nefkens. This is the first time that an overview of the collection can be seen in a Dutch museum. The selection has been made by Hilde Teerlinck, former director of the CRAC Alsace in Altkirch. The exhibition was previously shown in Altkirch, Vigo (Spain), Bangkok (Thailand) and Hasselt (Belgium). The Centraal Museum is exhibiting a revised selection, augmented with pieces on long-term loan from the H+F Collection to the Centraal Museum. The exhibitions include works by Otto Berchem, Angela Bulloch, Bernard Frize, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Dan Graham, Juul Hondius, Gerald Van Der Kaap, Karin Sander, Jörg Sasse, Diana Thater, Sam Taylor-Wood, Bill Viola, Jeff Wall and Erwin Wurm.
 
Han Nefkens
Han Nefkens (Rotterdam, 1954) began to assemble a collection of contemporary art in 2000 in close consultation with the Centraal Museum. He later began to support similar projects at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and photography projects at Huis Marseille in Amsterdam. His acquisitions are immediately housed in one of several Dutch museums, which will assume ownership of the works after his death. His partnership with the Centraal Museum focuses on collecting interdisciplinary works, and since 2006 works that operate on the border of art and fashion. The Centraal Museum has 72 pieces from his collection on long-term loan, including video installations by Bill Viola, Pippilotti Rist and Tony Oursler. Each year since 2006 Nefkens has acquired one or more pieces by the Dutch fashion duo Viktor & Rolf and the British-Cypriot designer Hussein Chalayan for the Centraal Museum.