The work was presented as part of a collective exhibition
Last week, a piece of art was stolen from an old hotel in London that is known for its worn walls and long overdue repairs. On October 12, a thief broke into the Averard Hotel in West London and stole Sarah Księska's oil painting Praparat. The work was shown as part of a group show the night before at the Lower East Side gallery Ramiken Crucible. The show was held at the same time as London's Frieze art fair. Mike Egan, the gallery's founder, and co-director, told, "It was a break-in." "It wasn't like they took it right out of the box."
Egan is sure that two German-speaking men who were at the opening and talked to his friends are the ones who stole the painting. "I think they knew it was important." After Egan called the police, they looked at the security camera footage, which showed how the theft happened. Around 9 a.m., a man walked into the hotel, went straight to the second floor, went through a few rooms, pulled the painting off the wall, and left.
Thieves were not interested in electronics, but came for the board
"He didn't touch any of our power tools or electronics, which is what most people steal," said Egan. "He went straight for this one painting, which I happened to own." Egan, who represents Księska through Ramiken and exhibited her work there earlier this year, bought Präparat from a dealer in Dusseldorf last year. Due to shipping problems, he hadn't seen the oil-on-aluminum work in person until the London show. At London's Heathrow airport, a box with new works by Księska was delayed, so Egan put up Praparat so that she could still be part of the group show. "I put it up at 4:30 pm on the 11th for the opening, and they took it at 9 am the next morning.
£10,000 reward for whoever finds the painting
Egan has posted a message on Instagram offering a reward of £10,000 for the painting's return. He has also put up street signs with pictures of the stolen painting and the people who took it. The hope is that the thief will realize they can't sell the painting and give it back to Egan through a friend or someone else in exchange for the money, rather than destroying it or leaving it somewhere. He said, "I'd rather just get it back because I love it and it's important to me." "That painting is a must-have."
Even though this was Ramiken's first theft in thirteen years of exhibitions, Egan said that the show went "amazingly well" and that he doesn't regret choosing the venue. "It's nice to do a show in a space that isn't white." Even though the Averard Hotel needs a lot of work and looks like it's in bad shape, Egan said it was one of the safest places he had shown in because of how secure it was. "We have pictures of the thief's face taken from different points of view. He said, "I don't think they'll get away with this."
Selena Mattei