Artist Jeffrey Gibson is accusing his former gallery, Kavi Gupta, of owing more than $500,000 in “stalled and failed” payments. In May, Gibson filed suit against the Chicago-based gallery in a US District Court in northern New York for allegedly withholding $541,852 in funds from sales of consigned artworks. On August 4, the art dealer filed a counterclaim maintaining that Gibson has “benefited substantially” from the gallery’s support, and that any funds owed are offset by the $786,600 Gibson allegedly owes the gallery.
Gibson began working with Kavi Gupta around 2017. The artist and the gallery confirm in their filings that they had agreed to evenly split the proceeds from the sale of each artwork per their consignment agreement.
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Both sides appear to have different understandings of which expenses would be sustained by the gallery and which would be deducted “off the top” of the sale price before equally dividing the profit. In Gibson’s suit, he claims that he had only agreed to take the cost of framing consigned artworks out of the total price and that “any other costs incurred by the Gallery in the course of exhibiting and/or selling Gibson’s artworks would be strictly a Gallery expense.”
On the other hand, Kavi Gupta claims that these “off the top” costs far exceeded framing and that Gibson had agreed “that the production costs and expenses associated with the production of his work would be taken ‘off the top’ when a particular piece or production was sold.”
Since 2018, the gallery has allegedly paid for “videographers, photographers, performers, and materials such as clothing, drums, metals, beads, and other components, all utilized to create and produce Gibson’s work” and spent over $764,600 “in developing and promoting Gibson’s career and works.” Gibson, of Choctaw-Cherokee descent, combines elements of his Indigenous upbringing and queer identity with modernist aesthetics and pop-culture references in his work, which includes sculpture, painting, performance, and multimedia installation. Based in Hudson, New York, Gibson was recently selected to represent the United States at next year’s Venice Biennale.
The gallery pointed to Gibson’s exhibition The Spirits Are Laughing (2022), which is currently on view at the Aspen Art Museum, and alleged they invested $57,000 into the series. Kavi Gupta is also saying that between 2020 and 2022, the gallery paid Gibson in advanced monthly installments after the artist had expressed concerns about maintaining his studio and staff during the pandemic.
“From the time the Gallery began working with Gibson, it invested substantial financial resources to introduce him to the international art world and to build his reputation,” the gallery’s affidavit reads.
In Gibson’s suit, he claims that “while initially the Gallery did properly remit Gibson’s share of sales proceeds, at some point the Gallery fell behind.” In April 2022, the artist said that he became concerned that the gallery was not giving him his full share of the sale proceeds and began requesting full payments, which led him to seek legal counsel in December.
“Because the Gallery has stalled and failed to even negotiate in earnest a mutually acceptable payment plan, Gibson is now forced to commence this action to seek the full amount of sales proceeds which belong to him,” Gibson’s suit reads.
Kavi Gupta is denying any withheld payments with the exception of “one project for which the parties have been continuously negotiating a resolution,” mentioned in their affidavit.
Gibson declined to comment through his attorney. Kavi Gupta Gallery has not yet responded to Hyperallergic’s request for comment.
Source: Hyperallergic.com