Jan Hoet facts for kids
Jan Hoet (born June 23, 1936 – died February 27, 2014) was a famous Belgian art expert. He started the SMAK museum in Ghent, Belgium. SMAK stands for Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, which means Municipal Museum for Contemporary Art.
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About Jan Hoet
Jan Hoet was born in Leuven, Belgium. When he was younger, he was a boxer in college. People often talked about his boxing past. He even said he admired the famous boxer Mike Tyson. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he also made some comics with a photographer named Rony Heirman.
His Big Ideas in Art
Jan Hoet became known around the world because of an amazing art show he organized in Ghent in 1986. It was called "Chambres d'Amis." For this show, about 50 artists from America and Europe created art for 50 different private homes in Ghent. These homes were then opened to the public for a few weeks. It was a very new and exciting way to see art.
After "Chambres d'Amis," Jan Hoet organized many other important art shows all over the world. In 1992, he was in charge of a huge art exhibition called Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany. This show featured hundreds of artworks by 190 artists from almost 40 countries.
Jan Hoet was the main art director for the SMAK museum from 1975 until he retired in 2003. He was known for his bold and sometimes unusual ideas. For example, during the "Over the Edges" exhibition in Ghent in 2000, he allowed an artist named Jan Fabre to cover columns in a university building with slices of ham!
After leaving SMAK, in 2003, he became the artistic director for a new museum called MARTa Herford in Herford, Germany. He even worked with the famous architect Frank Gehry on the museum's design. The first show at MARTa Herford in 2005 was called “My Private Heroes.” It was a fun mix of art by many different artists, including some famous ones like Marina Abramović and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It also included old paintings and even a yellow jersey worn by a Tour de France bike race winner.
Later Life and Passing
On June 17, 2012, Jan Hoet became unwell at the airport in Hamburg, Germany. A few days later, on June 23, 2012, while being taken back to Ghent, he had a serious breathing problem. He was put into a special sleep (a coma) at a hospital in Soltau. He was later brought back to Ghent. In January 2014, he had another heart problem. Jan Hoet passed away in a hospital in Ghent on February 27, 2014. He was buried in the Cemetery of Campo Santo.
His Impact on Art
When Jan Hoet passed away, many people shared how important he was. The Belgian prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, said that the art world in Belgium had "lost a father." The famous painter Luc Tuymans said Jan Hoet was "invaluable." Jan Hoet had bought Tuymans' first artwork and helped him become a globally recognized artist. Jan Hoet truly helped shape the world of modern art.
Images for kids
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Jan Hoet (1989)
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Jan Hoet by the Belgian painter Willy Bosschem
See also
In Spanish: Jan Hoet para niños
