View source for Jan Hoet

[[Image:Jan hoet 1989.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Jan Hoet (1989)]]
'''[[Ridder (title)|Knight]] Jan Hoet''' ({{IPA|nl|jɑn ˈɦut}}; 23 June 1936 &ndash; 27 February 2014) was the  Belgian founder of [[SMAK]] (''Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst'' or Municipal Museum for Contemporary Art) in [[Ghent]], [[Belgium]].<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DA1E3EF936A35754C0A964958260 ART VIEW; At Documenta, It's Survival Of the Loudest - New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Biography==
Jan Hoet was born in [[Leuven]], [[Belgium]]. Throughout his career, he was often referred to in the press as a former boxer (he pursued the sport in college) and several times expressed an admiration for [[Mike Tyson]]. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he and photographer Rony Heirman made some comics together.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/hoet_jan.htm|title=Jan Hoet|website=Lambiek.net|access-date=23 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/heirman_rony.htm|title=Rony Heirman|website=Lambiek.net|access-date=23 March 2021}}</ref>

His international reputation was first established by "Chambres d'Amis," an innovative exhibition he organized in Ghent in 1986. In that show, about 50 American and European artists were invited to create works for 50 private homes in Ghent, which were then opened to the public for several weeks.<ref>[[Roberta Smith]] (June 22, 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/22/arts/review-art-a-small-show-within-an-enormous-one.html A Small Show Within an Enormous One] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> Subsequently, he managed several important exhibitions all over the world.

Hoet curated [[Documenta]] IX in [[Kassel]] in 1992, presenting several hundred works by 190 artists from nearly 40 countries.<ref>[[Roberta Smith]] (June 22, 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/22/arts/review-art-a-small-show-within-an-enormous-one.html A Small Show Within an Enormous One] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> Subsequently, he managed several important exhibitions all over the world.
[[File:Willy Bosschem - Jan Hoet De Zee.JPG|thumb|Jan Hoet by the Belgian painter Willy Bosschem]]
Hoet served as the curator of the SMAK from 1975 until his retirement in 2003. As part of the 2000 "Over the Edges" exhibition in Ghent, he let artist [[Jan Fabre]] drape columns of a university auditorium in slabs of ham.<ref>Raf Casert (February 27, 2014), [http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/27/3962510/belgian-modern-art-director-jan.html Belgian modern art director Jan Hoet dies at 77] ''[[Miami Herald]]''.</ref> After retiring, in 2003, he became artistic director for the museum [[MARTa Herford]] in [[Herford]] ([[Germany]]) and collaborated with architect [[Frank Gehry]] on its design.<ref>Lawrence Van Gelder (May 10, 2005), [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C12F939540C738DDDAC0894DD404482&action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry634%23%2Fjan%2520hoet Another Gehry Museum] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-02-27|title=Zum Tod des Ausstellungsmachers Jan Hoet|url=https://www.wa.de/kultur/ausstellungsmachers-hoet-documenta-marta-herford-3388989.html|access-date=2021-08-12|website=wa.de|language=de}}</ref> The inaugural show in 2005 called “''My Private Heroes”'' was an eclectic mix of works by artists including [[Marina Abramović]], [[Chris Burden]], [[Gavin Turk]], [[Jean-Michel Basquiat]] and [[Joseph Beuys]] as well as history paintings, ephemera and a yellow jersey worn by a [[Tour de France]] winner.<ref>Javier Pes (February 27, 2014), [http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Jan-Hoet-pugnacious-Belgian-museum-director-has-died-aged-/31850 Jan Hoet, pugnacious Belgian museum director, has died, aged 77] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228001923/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Jan-Hoet-pugnacious-Belgian-museum-director-has-died-aged-/31850 |date=2014-02-28 }} ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.</ref>

On 17 June 2012 Jan Hoet collapsed at the [[Hamburg Airport|airport]] in [[Hamburg]]. On 23 June 2012, while being repatriated to Ghent, Hoet suffered from [[hypercapnia]] and he was being held in a coma at the hospital of [[Soltau]]. Hoet was repatriated to Ghent. In January 2014 Hoet suffered a second heart attack. He died in a hospital in Ghent on 27 February 2014 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/hoet_jan.htm|title=Jan Hoet|website=Lambiek.net|access-date=23 March 2021}}</ref> and was buried in the Cemetery of [[Campo Santo (Gent)|Campo Santo]].

==Recognition==
In 1992, a Belgian magazine named Hoet one of the 10 sexiest people in Belgium.<ref>[[Roberta Smith]] (June 22, 1992), [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/22/arts/review-art-a-small-show-within-an-enormous-one.html A Small Show Within an Enormous One] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> At the news of his death, the Belgian prime minister [[Elio Di Rupo]] [[Twitter|tweeted]] that the Belgian art world “loses a father”.<ref>Javier Pes (February 27, 2014), [http://theartnewspaper.com/articles/Jan-Hoet-pugnacious-Belgian-museum-director-has-died-aged-/31850 Jan Hoet, pugnacious Belgian museum director, has died, aged 77] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228001923/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Jan-Hoet-pugnacious-Belgian-museum-director-has-died-aged-/31850 |date=2014-02-28 }} ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.</ref> "He was invaluable," painter [[Luc Tuymans]] said of Hoet, who bought his first work and was instrumental in making Tuymans a global name in contemporary painting.<ref>Raf Casert (February 27, 2014), [http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/27/3962510/belgian-modern-art-director-jan.html Belgian modern art director Jan Hoet dies at 77] ''[[Miami Herald]]''.</ref>

==Bibliography==
*"Your Own Soul: Ingrid Mwangi" by [[Ingrid Mwangi]], Jan Hoet, and Gislind Nabakowski (Hardcover - 1 September 2003)
*"Flemish and Dutch Painting: From Van Gogh, Ensor, Magritte, Mondrian to Contemporary Artists"  by Rudi Fuchs and Jan Hoet (Hardcover - 15 June 1997)
*"Bjarne Melgaard: Black Low" by Bjarne Melgaard, Jan Hoet, and Ann Demester (Hardcover - 2 March 2003)
*"Positions In Art (Reihe Cantz)" by Chris Burden, Kiki Smith, James Turrell, and Jan Hoet (Paperback - 2 July 1995)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/hoet_jan.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia article.]
*{{IMDb name|2596726}}
*[http://www.macba.cat/uploads/downloader.php?fichero=media/historia_exposII/jan_hoet.mp3 On "Chambres d'amis"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170327/http://www.macba.cat/uploads/downloader.php?fichero=media%2Fhistoria_exposII%2Fjan_hoet.mp3 |date=2016-03-03 }} Una conferenza di Jan Hoet per il corso [http://www.macba.cat/controller.php?p_action=show_page&pagina_id=33&inst_id=29420 History of exhibitions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008125534/http://www.macba.cat/controller.php?p_action=show_page&pagina_id=33&inst_id=29420 |date=2011-10-08 }}. MACBA (Barcelona), 2010.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoet, Jan}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Belgian art curators]]
[[Category:Belgian male boxers]]
[[Category:Belgian comics artists]]
[[Category:Belgian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Belgian knights]]
[[Category:Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Museum founders]]
[[Category:20th-century philanthropists]]
[[Category:20th-century Belgian sportsmen]]