Nefkens purchases and commissions international contemporary art with the specific purpose to give it on long-term loan or donate it to museums.
Born in Rotterdam in 1954, Nefkens studied journalism in France and the United States.
In 2001 he started the H+F Collection of contemporary art, which consists of photographs, videos, installations and paintings by – among others – Jeff Wall, Sam Taylor-Wood, Bill Viola, Shirin Neshat and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
This was followed by a collection of short pieces,Twee lege stoelen ("Two Empty Chairs"; 2005).
The book De Gevlogen Vogel notities over een herwonnen leven ("Borrowed Time: Notes on a Recovered Life"), which was published in 2008 and has been translated into Spanish, is a report of the lengthy recovery process of Nefkens' HIV induced encephalitis.