Otto Berchem. Forgive me for what I have not done

American artist Otto Berchem (1967), who lives in Amsterdam, has created a new work commissioned by the H+F Collection of writer and patron Han Nefkens. The work is entitled Forgive me for what I have not done and will be on show through 25 March 2012 at Out of Storage. This exhibition, which is being presented in the Timmerfabriek in Maastricht, the Netherlands, has been compiled by curator Hilde Teerlinck from works from the collection of FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais in Dunkirk, France. After the exhibition closes, Nefkens will give the work to the FRAC on long-term loan.

Forgive me for what I have not done is inspired by a tattoo. It was seen in a Puerto Rican jail being worn by a prisoner as an expression of his remorse for his actions: "Perdoname madre por lo que he hecho" (Mother forgive me for what I have done). While the original sentence conveys a primary form of guilt, altering the phrase turns it into a testimony of remorse for actions that have not (yet) been committed. Using the phrase "Forgive me for what I have not done" as the departure point, Otto Berchem is developing a series of works that includes text, drawings, paintings and sound. They all examine the concepts of remorse, guilt, failure and ultimately hope. The first part of the series comprises the sentence 'Forgive me for what I have not done' in reflective capitals, and confronts viewers with themselves.

Han Nefkens Writer, patron and art activist Han Nefkens (Rotterdam, 1954) began his activities in the art world as a collector. From the outset Nefkens has sought out cooperative relationships with museums and has immediately given the acquired international contemporary artworks placed in his H+F Collection on long-term loan with the museums as a promised gift. Through the years he has expanded his activities to include organising exhibitions in partnership with museums and commissioning artists to produce new works. Today Han Nefkens sees himself foremost as an initiator of art. Through initiatives such as the H+F Curatorial Grant (in association with FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais), H+F Fashion on the Edge and the related Han Nefkens Fashion Award (in association with Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam), the ArtAids foundation and the Fundació Han Nefkens in Barcelona, under whose banner the Han Nefkens Foundation MACBA Award for Contemporary Art was recently instituted, Han Nefkens enables artists and museums to produce high-profile artworks and exhibitions. Forgive me for what I have not done by Otto Berchem has also been realised within this context.

www.fracnpdc.fr www.outofstorage.nl/en

Otto Berchem.
Forgive me for what I have not done
H+F Collection
Kuratorin: Hilde Teerlinck
Ort: De Timmerfabriek