February 18th 2017
Beyond Baroque, Venice CA
My small sculptural wall relief TEXT (see photo above) was stolen from the stairway leading to the Mike Kelly Gallery during the weekend of February 10, 2017. The culprits preferred the TEXT piece over the TRUTH obviously not able to steal the truth as much as appropriate the text. This was the first time an artwork of mine had been pilfered in a professional gallery setting. I found the occurrence upsetting and wondered what kind of person would rip-off an artist in a space that has a very open and community vibe. Beyond Baroque in Venice, CA did offer to reimburse me for the piece which I donated back to the organization to help update their security around the Mike Kelly gallery.