Artwork at the Kopshop Gallery

As you may know, our landlord at the new location became less and less cooperative over time and the original partnership with him fell apart. In February 2008 we presenting him with an offer to break the partnership and sign a lease to be independent owners, he counter-offered a monthly rent that was far and beyond the means of the location. With no other choice, we were forced out. Hours later, the doors had been chained and communication with the landlord fell apart.

All of our personal belongings were seized, including all of the artwork that was in the restaurant and the gallery. When we moved locations we had transported everything that had been in storage from past shows, including many paintings and works of art. These pieces were well looked after and stored neatly in the new location. Unfortunately, there was never a running inventory of what was there, and since we had no way of preparing for an irrational lockout, we only have a rough idea of what remains.

Since February, I have been trying to get our artwork out of this enforced storage. The landlord is essentially holding it ransom to incite the previous partners of Sing Sing to fork over debts incurred though the premature closing of the restaurant. All attempts, including multiple visits with the police have gone nowhere. The owner, Kosta, will not budge. This is very scary. I myself have a few valuable pieces sitting in the gallery space. At this point, legal action is necessary to make sure that nothing happens to the remaining artwork, and to be able to do this requires a solid inventory of any and all valuable items. The issue is that the landlord is holding items that belong to the artists, not to the previous managers of Sing Sing.

I’m writing because I know that through the channels of friends we know, we can put together a list of artists and their missing work to present for a legal case. There is no reason why Kosta is doing this, and the possibility that he may do something to or with the artwork is unimaginable. Please help us get in touch with all possible artists, in particular artists who participated in the Aeroquatica exhibition last summer.

Thanks,