Piet Hein Eek

Collaborating with Piet Hein Eek by Menno Derk Doornbos

Not only is Piet Hein Eek a good, old, trusted friend of mine, he is also an artist and designer with whom I often collaborate on projects. When Piet Hein told me early on about his plans to bring together different disciplines under one roof at a new location, I was immediately fascinated by the idea. We talked at length about the concept, about the relationship between art and applied art, and about finding the right like-minded partners.
All of these plans have now become reality and we operate from a fantastic location, the old Philips ceramics factory in Eindhoven, where different traditional worlds merge and give a new dimension to the arts in the broadest sense of the word. We plan to further develop this location as a ‘Collectors House’, a place for collectors and interested parties that not only offers exhibitions and our expertise and services, but also other relevant facilities and activities like storage rooms, an art library, lectures and gatherings. Being entrepreneurial by nature, we decided to create a collective organisation that can facilitate and organise a range of activities related to art, design and architecture. This is our way of helping make the world a more beautiful place!

When I was a young man around the age of 13 to 16, I spent the money I earned washing cars, walking dogs and delivering newspapers to buy my first works of art. I became friends with different artists and was impressed by all the works of art I saw being ‘born’ in their studios. In many a studio, my payment schedule for the purchase of an art piece was scrawled in pencil on the wall. I hitchhiked to as many exhibitions as possible, saving the money otherwise spent on a train ticket to pay for my next art purchase. In essence, this continues to be the mentality and passion I like to convey, only now in a more professionalised context. Since 1982 I have been involved in a number of sizeable company, government and museum art collections, providing advice on policies, purchases, commissions, management and maintenance. My consultancy practice also includes a large number of ‘smaller collections’, in which the personal vision of the private owner plays an important role. With the support of a team of national and international specialists in contemporary art and collection management, I have been working for quite a few of these diverse clients for many years.

Menno Derk Doornbos, Berkeley, California, 1964