Stealing an artwork from the street and trying to flog it is the subject of a new movie called ‘How to sell a Banksy‘ but this is exactly what José Carlos Martinat did in Buenos Aires recently.
Before mural by Saga in situ
Rip off – damaged mural by Chilean artist Saga (photo © BA Street Art)
Classic artwork by Jaz (photo © BA Street Art)
It’s hard to believe but the Peruvian Martinat, with hired help, stole parts of walls surrounding a bus depot in Chacarita decorated with designs by well-known local artists such as Saga and Jaz. They painted over sections of the walls with clear fibreglass resin and then removed the designs with a plan to sell them at a gallery exhibition along with Martinat’s own work.All that is now left of the murals are ugly holes filled with concrete that you can still see along Castillo y Fitz Roy). The original works had all been commissioned or painted with the approval of the depot’s management.
Violin-ated: the mutilated mural (photo © BA Street Art)
The opening of Martinat’s exhibition at a gallery in Monserrat was greeted with a hostile and violent reaction. According to an article in Pagina 12, which first broke the story, a group consisting of local residents and street artists stormed the gallery in a commando-style raid vandalizing Martinat’s exhibits. They also set off fire extinguishers and wrote insults on the walls using aerosols and even sprayed paint on the shirt of the gallery owner himself.
Missing: part of the collaboration between Lean Frizzera, Emy Mariani and Jaz (photo © BA Street Art)
As Pagina 12 put it: “They considered it an eye for an eye”.Martinat also removed another artwork by Jaz that formed part of a collaboration with Lean Frizzera and Emy Mariani and also robbed works by Lean. “The ridiculous thing is this guy sold everything from his exhibition,” said Lean. “He removes the artworks with a resin. It’s a process whereby you paint with an emulsion that lifts off the paint and afterwards with the resin you put it on a tablet. It’s crazy!”
Give it back: another artwork by Jaz stolen by Martinat (photo © BA Street Art)
All photos © Buenos Aires Street Art
