I do feel for these artists. They trusted this dealer to protect their works and manage the gallery properly. Now they appear to be at the mercy of our legal system. While we do not know the full story, nowhere does it state that Elena Ab sought the advice of an attorney when the heat stopped working in the premises and in turn, she decided to stop paying the rent. The right legal advice may have helped prevent this mess.
This is a good lesson to all artists … make sure that you obtain consignment agreements whenever you deliver works to a gallery. This can afford you some level of protection — documenting that you, not the gallery, are the owner of the works.
For more on this story, click HERE.