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Kate Gottgens, \u201cAudible Doom\u201d (2021) (photo courtesy the artist)<\/p>\n Kate Gottgens, \u201cAudible Doom\u201d (2021) (photo courtesy the artist)<\/p>\n
A prominent international gallery in Cape Town is facing allegations of withholding artworks from and delaying payments to artists. The claims stem from a now-deleted Instagram post by South African artist Kate Gottgens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Gottgens alleged in the post that her former gallery, SMAC, failed to return her painting \u201cAudible Doom\u201d (2021) for four years after the work did not sell at the Miart fair in Milan in 2022. After nearly 13 years of working with the gallery, the artist left SMAC late last year and took to social media less than eight months after her departure to inquire about the whereabouts of her work, which she does not believe she will see again. <\/p>\n
In an email to Hyperallergic, Gottgens said SMAC had also engaged in a pattern of withholding agreed-upon payments, and in one instance, issued payment for a sold artwork \u201cyears later.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would often take many months if not longer to get paid and then only after persistent badgering and reminders,\u201d Gottgens wrote.<\/p>\n
SMAC Exhibitions Coordinator and Operations Manager Jean Butler rejected the artist\u2019s claims against the gallery, including with regard to \u201cAudible Doom,\u201d and said that Gottgens \u201cwas aware of the location of the work\u201d in a statement to Hyperallergic. Butler said the delay was caused by import and export issues beyond the gallery\u2019s control. The gallery claims it kept the artist and her husband in the loop about the painting\u2019s whereabouts at all times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to emails reviewed by Hyperallergic, a lawyer for the gallery accused Gottgens of making \u201cdefamatory and false posts on social media, clearly insinuating that certain artworks have been misappropriated by SMAC, despite [her] having knowledge that this is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gottgens claims she requested the return of her unsold painting \u201cMonster Love\u201d (2010) in early 2025. After some back-and-forth, Gottgens said the gallery gave her the painting, which was scheduled to appear in a show about motherhood at the Iziko South African Museum. However, in February 2025, a collector called the artist, claiming to own the work. The collector had apparently purchased the work in 2024, unbeknownst to Gottgens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the artist confronted the gallery, she claims they paid her \u201cinstantly\u201d and that they described the incident as an \u201cadministrative error.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time of leaving SMAC last November, Gottgens said the gallery had more than 50 of her artworks in its possession.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I left SMAC, I have been in a constant struggle to get the return of my work in their possession, in South Africa and around the world,\u201d Gottgens said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By now, the gallery has accounted for \u201cmost of the work\u201d and \u201call of the money\u201d it owed her, the artist said, but described the process as delayed despite numerous prior commitments to return these items.<\/p>\n
The artist also alleged that the gallery was unusually withholding information regarding collectors of her work.<\/p>\n
SMAC\u2019s lawyer contacted Gottgens when she posted about \u201cAudible Doom\u201d on Instagram. She agreed to take the post down \u201conce [she] had information or resolution on the work.\u201d<\/p>\n
After her post, which garnered comments from other artists stating that they shared similar experiences in their interactions with SMAC, Gottgens said she received R297,500 (~$18,218) in payment for her three paintings the gallery exhibited at Miart in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hyperallergic has reached out to another artist, Jody Paulsen, who reportedly shared a similar experience, but has not yet heard back.<\/p>\n
SMAC said in a statement to Hyperallergic that following its payment to Gottgens after her Instagram post, the paintings are now its property, and the gallery is \u201cnot obligated to return them to Gottgens when they arrive in South Africa on the 20th of August 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
In one email reviewed by Hyperallergic, Gottgens told her former gallery that she\u2019d rather receive her artworks than payment, but felt she had no choice but to accept payouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In other communications provided by SMAC, Gottgens told the gallery she would turn to social media if the gallery refused to pay her invoice before June 30.<\/p>\n
In additional emails provided by the gallery, SMAC provided shipping updates from Rotterdam to Gottgens, but it is unclear what paintings were included in the shipping order.\u00a0<\/p>\n