Amateurs painters might call themselves “starving artists, ” but real pros know what they are worth and when to sue.
Dean Levin at 26 might be the youngest artist to be represented by dealer Marianne Boesky, but Upper East Side gallery owner Robert Blumenthal shouldn’t think it’s like taking candy from a baby to avoid paying what he owes Levin from last Spring’s show.
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Levin is suing Blumenthal for the nearly $200, 000 he says he is owed after a sold-out show in May 2014, according to artnet. Gallery owner Blumenthal displayed Dean Levin’s art, which is collected by Leonardo Di Caprio, at Levin’s first solo show: “Dean Levin 1×1.” In the show were 30 paintings worth a total of $215, 000, but the only money Levin has seen is a measly $18, 000 Blumenthal sent him in June.
Work in Blumenthal’s gallery, which has been open for less than a year, inspired the coining of the term “Zombie Formalism” by Walter Robinson in an Artnews column. The term was used to describe the work of artists such as Parker Ito and Oscar Murillo who tend toward “process based” works that are “easy on the eyes.” But even Zombie Formalists deserve real cash and not zombie payments.
