Damn Economy...

[jim kitchen]

I discovered that a gallery which represents my work, and their associated framing company which I cannot not name, went into receivership on the first Tuesday of the New Year...

I went to the gallery to review my inventory at the beginning of the week, because I wanted to identify whether I could submit a few images to the show south of the border, mentioned earlier on this site, since the gallery, and the framing house always managed my image distribution. Unfortunately and to my surprise, a receivership notice was hanging on the front door, complete with the proper contact information.

The gallery and the framing shop have several of my framed images and other signed mounted pieces. I contacted the receiver immediately, and the receiver indicated that I cannot retrieve any of my inventory until the gallery's inventory is properly identified, and where my proof of ownership must be clearly established. My proof of ownership means that I must prove that I own the images outright, which I do, but the receiver's paperwork process will take a while to complete and validate my ownership. I can only imagine the numerous complications the other artists represented by the gallery must be going through, since they do not live in this city, and they are obligated to communicate with the receiver via phone calls, and an obvious continuous volley of emails.

Time will pass, and I will eventually retrieve my finished work by being patient, but I cannot access, assess, or remove my inventory until I am cleared to do so by the receiver. My present concern happens to be whether my inventory was intact prior to the receivership notice, but the qualified and experienced receiver assures me that this should not be a concern, and if it becomes a concern, the issue will be handled then. I know and trust the staff completely, so I should not be concerned, if an irregularity does surface. Receiverships can be processed efficiently, but complicated receiverships, such as the size and nature of this establishment's client base, will positively stress test the receiver going forward.

What a frigging pain in the ass this week happens to be...

jim k

[Kirk Gittings]

Good luck. Stay on it.

This has happened to me twice, once in a gallery in Amarillo and once in Santa Fe. Except I didn't hear about it for a about a year. The upshot was that I never saw my prints again and received no compensation. I heard, years later, that some of my prints were being sold at the flea market in Santa Fe, but I could never pin this down. This would have been in the late 70's.

[Brian_A]

Mr. K.,

Sorry to hear that your new year is starting off so badly. I hope it works out for you and doesn't cause you much stress. I had a situation like Kirk's and haven't seen any money nor can I get ahold of the former gallery owner. Of course, not in the 70's and never heard of them being sold at a flea market, though Anyway, I hope you get your prints back soon!

-B

[jim kitchen]

Dear Kirk,

That is unsettling too...

The value, safety, the locked inventory, and the immediate retrieval of my inventory happen to be my main concerns, going forward. I asked the receiver, what procedures they might have in place to prevent an individual from identifying any image as theirs, and whether they have a distributed procedure to qualify the item's ownership with the individual.

They could not immediately answer that question, because they did not have the procedure available for distribution, but they did identify that an individual or group must provide paid proof of ownership, which will be the only valid solution. I am also concerned about the time-line my images may reside within the buildings, or within another interim storage area during this exercise, and whether there happens to be any potential for my finished images to be mishandled during any transfer or subsequent storage event.

And, I was having such a nice day...


jim k

[Greg Miller]

Sorry to hear that. It is good practice to always have a transfer document, signed by you and the gallery agent, that lists the pieces you are transferring to them, their value, and the details about ownership. That helps prove ownership and value in cases like this.

I hope things work out and you get your work back quickly and unharmed.

[Bill_1856]

I hope your problem is resolved quickly.
You are not alone -- I believe that it was Robert Rauchenberg who said that he should be know as "The Mother of Modern Art" because he had been f***ed by every gallery in New York.

[jim kitchen]

Dear Greg,

I do have a transfer document, but the process will take time to validate...

Thanks for mentioning that, in case others do not.

jim k

[jim kitchen]

Dear Bill,

You just put a smile on my face. I like that quote...

Thank you.

jim k

[Greg Miller]

Dear Bill,

You just put a smile on my face. I like that quote...

Thank you.

jim k

That's good to hear (I figured you probably did). It is s PITA but worth the trouble. Best of luck with it.

[Mike1234]

I discovered that a gallery which represents my work, and their associated framing company which I cannot not name, went into receivership on the first Tuesday of the New Year...

I went to the gallery to review my inventory at the beginning of the week, because I wanted to identify whether I could submit a few images to the show south of the border, mentioned earlier on this site, since the gallery, and the framing house always managed my image distribution. Unfortunately and to my surprise, a receivership notice was hanging on the front door, complete with the proper contact information.

The gallery and the framing shop have several of my framed images and other signed mounted pieces. I contacted the receiver immediately, and the receiver indicated that I cannot retrieve any of my inventory until the gallery's inventory is properly identified, and where my proof of ownership must be clearly established. My proof of ownership means that I must prove that I own the images outright, which I do, but the receiver's paperwork process will take a while to complete and validate my ownership. I can only imagine the numerous complications the other artists represented by the gallery must be going through, since they do not live in this city, and they are obligated to communicate with the receiver via phone calls, and an obvious continuous volley of emails.

Time will pass, and I will eventually retrieve my finished work by being patient, but I cannot access, assess, or remove my inventory until I am cleared to do so by the receiver. My present concern happens to be whether my inventory was intact prior to the receivership notice, but the qualified and experienced receiver assures me that this should not be a concern, and if it becomes a concern, the issue will be handled then. I know and trust the staff completely, so I should not be concerned, if an irregularity does surface. Receiverships can be processed efficiently, but complicated receiverships, such as the size and nature of this establishment's client base, will positively stress test the receiver going forward.

What a frigging pain in the ass this week happens to be...

jim k

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of greedy bastard dishonest assholes in this world. Good luck and BE PERSISTENT, ON TIME, and ACCURATE!!