para los que han perdido arte, gracias a sus galeristas

site for those with artwork lost by their dealer


myspace.com/cryinglostartwork

Almost every artist has such a story. The gallerist can't find your work, either lost it or sold it under the table, and won't negotiate a reasonable amount to cover the loss, the tragedy and the trouble.

Often artists loose considerable sums of valuable art and time. And it's very hard to fight it in court or in the press. In the end they'll always get away with it, either going bankrupt or simply by calling you a "problematic primadona" and letting everybody in this tiny artworld that you are a risk. Just because you asked for justice.

This new site if for those that are not millionares, artist that can't afford a good lawyer. This is your site, post pics of your lost work and tell your story. Maybe someday the art press will decide to push this problem so common in our proffession. The artist shouldn't have to pay for a dealers idiocy. Artist make the dealer, is not the other way around. Please, send you stories and pics to:

coscaleaves@yahoo.com

anonymous is fine...and visit our page:

myspace.com/cryinglostartwork


Blog de Edward Winkleman
http://edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/

Sleazebag Dealers Open Thread

File this one away in the Tough Love category.

What is a sleazebag art dealer, though? Who deserves that label?

Having begun our gallery in Williamsburg, where a majority of the spaces there are run by at least one artist, I've heard again and again artists-turned-gallerists confess to feeling very differently about the artists-dealer relationship than they had before they opened their spaces. They realize with time that running a gallery is a risky and very often thankless task and that dealers are not the only ones in the business willing to take advantage of other people. This awakening, IMO, is to be expected...walk a mile in anyone's shoes and you'll gain a new-found respect for their position.

Having said that, though, it's clear to me from the tales I hear from artists who are friends that there are some sleazebag dealers out there who seem to have forgotten that the 50% of the money they take in is not theirs. How quickly a gallery can pay an artist for a sold work may vary from time to time (cash flow problems are a never-ending bane in any small business), and each gallery has to work out with its artists what to expect in terms of payment schedules, etc. When in doubt, a frank discussion with one's dealer is always appropriate, IMO.

But those are not, to my mind, the sorts of things that deserve the label "sleazebag." Abuse of established payment schedules may lead to that being the case, but merely needing to establish some system is a reality.

What I believe warrants the label, though, is the sort of behavior that's led to the creation of a new website: Crying Lost Art.

Almost every artist has such a story. The gallerist can't find your work; either lost it or sold it under the table, and won't negotiate a reasonable amount to cover the loss, the tragedy and the trouble. Sometimes shit happens and life goes on, other times the dealer is a sleazebag. Often artists loose considerable sums of valuable art and time. And it's very hard to fight it in court or in the press. In the end they'll always get away with it, either going bankrupt or simply by calling you a "problematic prima Dona" and letting everybody in this tiny art world that you are a risk. Just because you asked for justice. This site is for those that are not millionaires, artist that can't afford a good lawyer. This is your site, post pics of your lost work and tell your story. Maybe someday the art press will decide to push this problem so common in our profession. The artist shouldn't have to pay for a dealer’s idiocy. Artist make the dealer, is not the other way around. Please, send you stories and pics to: coscaleaves@yahoo.com anonymous collaborations are welcome...

I was sent a link to this site by one of the first artists to have their work listed on the site, Pedro Velez, who is also a talented writer who wrote for artnet.com a while back. I won't republish the particular charges here, as I'm not in a position to judge the situation, but I will note that I trust Pedro wouldn't have taken this step lightly.

Although I have mixed feelings about this Hall of Shame approach, I do understand the frustration many artists feel when faced with recouping funds from a dealer who isn't responsive to their appeals. To be clear, I have no respect for any dealer who would lie to an artist about what they've sold or lost. Inventory mistakes can happen without malice, but upon being asked, it's the gallery's responsibility to sort out where a work is and pay the artist pronto if it's been sold, damaged beyond repair, or cannot be located. It's entirely unacceptable for a gallery to suggest they don't know what happened to the work and try to leave it at that.

To avoid situations where both sides are sure they're right about the whereabouts of a piece (but one is obviously mistaken), even for artists who are represented by a gallery, I suggest some form of documentation trade hands each time work is taken into inventory. Either a consignment form or inventory database printout. Something. I'll be honest, we don't always do that (we do for any artist who's in a group exhibition or otherwise not represented, but tend to work less formally with those in our "stable"), but as we get busier it's clear that we will need to.

But what if you have documentation and the dealer still won't give you the work back or pay you for it? Then you're unquestionably dealing with a sleazebag, IMO. As the blurb from Crying Lost Art notes, taking a dealer to court can be costly (although you can always consult Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts or similar organizations). Also, as noted, the art world is a small place, and dealers know each other and talk (yes, we do), so if you're the only artist complaining about a particular gallery, your odds of winning your case in the court of public opinion may not be all that high.

That's why the best advice I can offer if you're faced with what you believe is a sleazebag dealer is to meet individually with other artists who have shown in that gallery and subtlety probe about their experience. If you find others in the same boat then approach them about acting together. One artist complaining about a dealer might be (mis)interpreted as a Prima Donna, but several with the same story will turn the tide and convince other artists and dealers that there's a problem there, if they go public. But approaching the dealer with plans to go public together might make that last step unnecessary. A dealer's reputation is the most valuable asset they have. If that doesn't work, then at least the funds from several artists will go a lot further in court costs than those of one.

But what if no other artists report your experience or none are willing to join forces? I guess the Hall of Shame idea might work. I'll be checking back to find out.

And now I'll turn the keyboard over to you. I'd ask that you refrain from naming names (unless you're signing your own [anonymous accusations are accepted on Crying Lost Art, but I strongly discourage them for this context]), but have you had similar experiences (from either the artist or dealer end of things) and how did you resolve them? Any advice to others faced with this situation?