another possible scam

the original posting has been removed as requested by re-title.com and Galeria Gaudi of Madrid. I was wondering about this particular "scam" because it didn't have the usual weirdly phrased sentences. I thought it was a whole new innovative style of scam. It turns out it may not be a scam afterall, at least not in the usual sense.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I just received a similar letter and so I checked it out on Google.
Lateley there are lots of 'offers' from so called art connoisseurs, museums, who all want my art but for a 'fee'.

Thanks for communicating this info to other artists and possible victims.

Alann

www.alann.info
i got a similar e-mail to participate in a fair in italy , i asked for their postal address and to email a draft contract,,, same answer 1500 euros , no postal address only a bank acount number.feel a bit let down, i'm looking for opurtunitys

neville
Anonymous said…
SCAM SCAM SCAM Alert


Message from Cristina Uribe
From: Cristina Uribe (galeriagaudi@gmail.com)
Sent: Wed 10/29/08 10:01 AM


Dear (anonymous)


My name is Cristina Uribe and I work in the International Department of the Gaudí Gallery from Madrid, in Spain.

I am contacting you because very soon, from February 20th until the 23rd, the gallery will take part in the International Art Fair ARTEGENOVA that will take place in Italy

www.artegenova.org

We are very interested in your art work and we think that fits perfectly with the art works we are going to present in this Art Fair. If our proposal is of your interest, please contact us by mail and we will send you the contract with the conditions of the participation.

Awaiting for your answer

Sending you by best regards,
Cristina Uribe
Anonymous said…
I have received exactly the same email word for word today.
Anonymous said…
CarmenI was very suspicious of the e-mail I received from the gallery, saying they were interested in my paintings. Glad I googled their details and came across this scam alert.
Anonymous said…
(how many galleries have an “International Department” as the Gaudi Gallery does??? And many variations from multiple emails from all over the world of names of people working there? If one does a Google… this gallery has a very bad reputation. Gaudi Gallery is at the best a vanity gallery, too be avoided)


From british arts website:
art gallery Gaudi - “would appear it is a bit of a scam. Or at the very least an organisation to avoid “

http://www.britisharts.co.uk/artistsbeware.html

http://www.artscams.com/ another helpful website

Artist, stay strong against such unscrupulous galleries such as “Gaudí Gallery from Madrid, in Spain” taken directly from one of my emails the gallery sent me.
pam glew said…
I got this today!

thanks for posting these warnings- god i love the internet for avoiding sharks like these.....

"My name is Cristina Uribe and I work in the International Department of the Gaudi Gallery in Madrid, Spain. I am contacting you because very soon, from April 23-26 the gallery is taking part in another International Art Fair, Glasgow Art Fair. We have seen your work through internet, wich we find incredible, and we would be very interested in your participation. If our proposal is of your interest, please contact me and I will send you the contract and conditions of participation. Hoping to start a relationship based on confidence and succes. Best regards, Cristina"
Anonymous said…
it is not a scam in the sense that the gallery does exist (I am an ex worker). But it is true they try to find as many artists as posible, they don't care who or what art type, as long as you are ready to pay. They are as lame with their employees as they are with their workers. Sure you get my point, no need to say more.
Unknown said…
Galeria Gaudi sophisticated fraud...

I got the same crap today from Galeria Gaudi! They just want to get some easy money from the hopeful artists... You don't get anything for your money if you pay them. This is the same as Agora Gallery.

Galeria Gaudi's mail said:

My name is Cristina and I work in the Gallery Gaudi in Madrid, Spain. Apart from our exhibitions every moth, one of the galleries main events is the participation in international art fairs.

Our next project is in Bolzano, Italy and will be held from May 21-24. For more information of this art fair take a look at www.kunstart.it

In this fair we have a space of 168m2 and we are looking for talented artists to represent there.

If this project is of your interest, please contact me and I will send you the contract and conditions of participation.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Kind regards,
Cristina
Unknown said…
Hi everyone, I have also spoken to and been emailed by Cristina Uribe!
My intuition made me investigate further and as a result I stumbled upon this and other pages!
As an artist one hopes that one will be discovered one day and sometimes one loses sight when exciting opportunities like these crop up, however one should not have to pay vast quantities of money to attend with ones outstanding creations!

Here's to being discovered in sincere ways fellow artists!
www.gigilopez.com
Anonymous said…
I agree with the other ex worker. So I was. Please, never NEVER work with this called serious galery Gaudi de Madrid or Proyectos Scarpellini or Feria de Vigo (so are the differents names they use). I say NEVER. Believe us, they are the worst and they are not interested at all in your work. They just want your money.

Another ex worker as the poor Cristina Uribe, I suppose!
Anonymous said…
I also think that this gallery is not serious. They do really exist, last week I was in Spain and I was invited to visit the gallery. I was corresponding with a woman called Marta, she told that we would meet. But when I came at appointed hour, no Marta was there, a man met me. All the time he was telling me about crysis and difficult times in art sphere, that's why they pay as if 50% of artist's participation, and other 50% must be paid by the artist. I was offered to participate in Arti10, La Haya if I was ready to pay 1500 euros. I almost believed them. I wrote that I'm ready to participate and asked to mention the works they're interested in. They responded me that they like all my works and that it's up to me what works should be sent and exhibited. How can it be that they like all of my works??? And that I have to decide what works to send? it's not serious. I googled and met this blog. Thank you for information.
enliten.livejournal.com
enlighten@mail.ru
insultARTE said…
Ey, it´s nice to see that you are disappointed to that iniciatives as gallery gaudi does.

We have a blog for art scams in Spain.

www.insultarte.blogspot.com

We made a post based on this comments.

Best Regards.
Anonymous said…
Now they have a new name : ARTEANDO.

NEVER work with this gallery Gaudi from Madrid or Proyectos Scarpellini or Feria de Vigo or Arteando (this is the new name for the Irun fair). They are not interested at all in your work they are just interested in your money.
Anonymous said…
Good afternoon everybody, I have just read all your comments and i want to tell you that last year I ve start to collaborate with this amazing team and their are doing a very good job.

Excelent service and collaboration with the artists.

I totally recommend Galeria Gaudi from Madrid in order to exhibit your artworks in Europe and not only.

The Director MARTA SCARPELLINI and His assistant Roxana Popescu are very nice and professional.

They sold 2 of my pictures last year in Paris and this year I will participate again in the CANNES artfair in July.

I ve just send to them more paintings in order to go to this fair.

I also visited them in December when I was in Madrid with my familiy and I REALLY RECOMMEND YOU TO DO THAT.

Greetings from ITALY,

MARIA P
KerBey said…
Hi everybody, I participated in several occasions in art fairs with the galería Gaudi, visited the fair and was always very satisfied with the service they provide. Marta, the director, is very profesional and caring and so are Christina and the other young ladies working with her. I just can recommend the gallery and think that it's below good taste to talk in a bad manner about them just because maybe the artists didn't sell what they expected
Greetings from Madrid, Carolina
Anonymous said…
I received an email from them recently expressing interest in showing my work at Discovery Art Fair Cologne, but of course at a cost - €900 of 3 artworks, €1200 for 5.
On top of these costs the "gallery" take a 40% cut of any sales! Apparently the upfront costs are to cover the booth rental, marketing and shipping - however this is highly unusual and irregular behaviour for a gallery.

The art fairs they participate in are at the lowest end of the market and so their participation costs can be found easily online.. For instance a 10 square meter booth at Discovery Art Fair Cologne will cost the gallery a total of €2375, and 20 square meters costs €4565 total. With these figures in mind it's easy to see that the gallery can very easily manage to break even or be in profit before they even arrive at the fair!

They also send mass emails, to hundreds of artists, and there is no information about which artists participated at which fair and no documentation of their activities - so it seems likely they don't bring all works sent (and paid for) to the fairs. A normal gallery business model is that they take a 50% cut of sales - but they cover all of their costs (art fair rental, marketing, shipping, staff, etc). This incentivises the gallery to sell(!) but also look after their artists. This arrangement makes sense when you consider the artist will likely have their own costs (studio, materials, etc). Accept nothing less than this.

This is a predatory scam - Their business model is not primarily based on selling artworks, like a legitimate gallery with a genuine interest in the work they exhibit, but indiscriminately selling booth space and the promise of sales/exposure to artists!
Anonymous said…
Hi guys, I was just wondering if Van Gogh gallery in Madrid is more of this same kind of scam? Anybody else been contacted by them?
Anonymous said…
Hello, I was contacted by Van Gogh gallery and after looking into it I believe it is a similar sort of thing. They told me I would have to pay €1,200 to participate which was for the space, marketing, shipping of art etc. However from looking into it further their marketing seems to be a single Instagram post about the whole event and you do have to pay for your own shipping. I’ve spoken to a few other artists who participated and they all said it was a great (but very costly) experience and it didn’t particularly help accelerate their careers. I myself am a very small artist (very small) and I wondered why they had chosen me, I asked them and they gave an incredibly vague very generic answer, sadly the truth is I’m no where near good/experienced enough yet to be picked for something like this. I wish this was that big break that I have always dreamt of but sadly this one isn’t it, fingers crossed one day! Also it’s worth mentioning that I received the email from a gmail account which I didn’t notice at first as the email is something like curator . Van Gogh gallery @ gmail so it’s sort of disguised. I hope this helps :)
Anonymous said…
Hello, I was also contacted by Van Gogh gallery (Madrid) via my Instagram. Since that I am (very) small artist, I've been thinking about scam and came here to read other similar experiences...
Anonymous said…
Hi, I was contacted by the Van Gogh gallery via Instagram last week. Although they addressed me by my name etc, there was an air of 'generic-ness' in the tone of the message.

They also emailed me and expressed an interest in representing me at an art fair in Monaco this August. Everything is friendly and they are responding to my email questions generally. They have asked for 1000 euros as a participation fee.

Naturally this alarmed me as a local gallery I normally work with take a 45% cut and nothing up front. Similar to how most galleries work I guess.

I've tentatively agreed to it but not coughed up any cash yet as I am digging deep into the internet to find more information. They have emailed me their bank details 3 times to make the transfer.

I'm not sure what to do; 'potentially' risk a £900 (1000 euros) in a sort of scam, or miss out on a genuine opportunity to sell some art on a global stage due to me getting cold feet!?

Everything I have read online about the gallery seems to check out, but there are a few red flags;

1) The email address I'm being contacted from is a .gmail account.
2) I cant find any online presence of anyone who matches the name of the curator I'm speaking to. I would be more confident if there was a LinkedIn or staff page somewhere.
3) Google reviews of the gallery, many from alleged collaborators, are overwhelmingly positive, however bar one, have only ever written one review.

Id love to hear from anyone who can put my doubts at ease. :)

Anonymous said…
Regarding the Van Gogh Gallery in Madrid. I have the same doubts. There are at least two reasons for that:

1. It all sounds too good. Van Gogh Gallery - Madrid - Monaco Art fair, etc.
2. The curator has not given her last name in any of the emails. I can not find any information about any curators in Van Gogh Gallery.
MR said…
Got this on Instagram this morning:


Dear Mark,

My name is Daiana and I m writing you from Van Gogh Art Gallery, a contemporary art gallery located in the center of Madrid.

I had the opportunity to discover your amazing style of work and it would be great if you can provide us your email address in order to stay in contact and speak about a possible future collaboration.

I wish you a great day and we ll stay in contact for everything for sure.

Best regards,

Daiana Fernandez

And then this email:

Dear Mark,

A pleasure to greet you once again,

Thank you very much for your answer and your interest in our call.

As I've told you in my previous message, my name is Daiana and I belong to VAN GOGH Art Gallery curator's team.

Our Gallery, located in the heart of Madrid, represents a point of reference in the national and international art scene with international experience by participating previously at important art shows all over the world: Miami USA, Paris France, Milano Italy, Vienna Austria, Innsbruck Austria, Frankfurt Germany, Leipzig Germany, Bruxelles Belgium, Luxembourg, Marbella Spain and also in different top locations in Europe / outside Europe.

We offer representation internationally to both emerging and professional artists and also local representation in Madrid by searching continuously for new opportunities to build the connection between the artists and collectionists and also to connect the art with emblematic institutions as embassies , interior designers, architecture studios and decorators, international companies, and 5* hotels.

I could see your amazing artwork and it fits perfectly with our activity. It would be a great opportunity to discuss a possible collaboration with our gallery.

I am happy to inform you about our next international project, the ¨ Art Innsbruck 2021 " organized from 8th to 11th of July in Innsbruck, Austria.

The immense variety of styles and disciplines that will be exhibited at the fair, promises a special experience for all, including artists, collectors and visitors.

I will send to you attached to this email the complete information about the Innsbruck ArtFair and also the conditions of participation.

Please don´t hesitate to contact me for every question you may have.

It will be an honour to represent your work on this project and have a successful collaboration.

We ll stay in contact for everything.

Best regards from Madrid.

Yours sincerely,

Daiana Fernandez

MY REPLY:

Hello Daiana,
Thank you for reaching but I’m assuming this is one of those situations that wishes to charge me exorbitant fees in order to participate?
Best,
Mark

HER REPLY:

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your reply and for your comments.

I would like to mention that for the international art fairs there is a participation fee established on the total cost of the project (organization, logistics, publicity etc).

In order to collaborate with us inside the Gallery there is no cost and we would like to stay in contact with you in order to find a way to collaborate in the near future.

Right now our exhibition schedule is complete but is a good opportunity to keep in touch.

As a Gallery we have a very dynamic activity also on the local market working with 5stars hotels, interior designers and some embassies but it is true that the possibility of sale increases a lot participating in international artfairs.

Best wishes from Madrid,

Yours sincerely,

Daiana Fernandez


I’m sure that’ll be the last I hear from her
Anonymous said…
Just got an exactly same email from Van Gogh Art Gallery in Madrid. Glad I searched online.
Anonymous said…
Same here. I write another post talking about this.
https://yuezengartstudio.com/2021/04/28/possible-scam-by-gallery-at-madrid/?v=7516fd43adaa
Anonymous said…
Another email from Van Gogh gallery:


A pleasure to greet you,



My name is Sofia and I'm the head curator of VAN GOGH Art Gallery, an international art gallery specialised in contemporary and modern art with a very dynamic international activity.



Our Gallery, located in the heart of Madrid, represents a point of reference in the national and international art scene with international experience by participating previously at important art shows all over the world: Miami USA, Paris France, Milano Italy, Vienna Austria, Innsbruck Austria, Frankfurt Germany, Leipzig Germany, Bruxelles Belgium, Luxembourg, Marbella Spain and also in different top locations in Europe / outside Europe.



We offer representation internationally to both emerging and professional artists and also local representation in Madrid by searching continuously for new opportunities to build the connection between the artists and collectionists and also to connect the art with emblematic institutions as embassies , interior designers, architecture studios and decorators, international companies, and 5* hotels.



We had the fantastic opportunity of discovering your art production and we're very much interested in your artwork, it fits perfectly with our gallery activity. This would be a great opportunity to discuss a possible collaboration.



I am pleased to inform you about our next international project, our participation at the "International Contemporary Art Fair of Luxembourg" organized from 17th to the 19th of September of 2021 in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.



The immense variety of styles and disciplines that will be exhibited at the fair promises a special experience for all, collectors and visitors, and if you're interested in this project, If you're interested in the project I'll be pleased to present you the complete information.



We'll stay in contact for everything.



Best regards from Madrid.



Yours sincerely,

Sofia
Anonymous said…
I just got a similar email:




Dear Mega,

A pleasure to greet you,

My name it's Francisco and I belong to the VAN GOGH Art Gallery's curators team, an international art gallery specialised in contemporary and modern art with a very dynamic international activity.

Our Gallery, located in the heart of Madrid, represents a point of reference in the national and international art scene with international experience by participating previously at important art shows all over the world: Miami USA, Paris France, Milano Italy, Vienna Austria, Innsbruck Austria, Frankfurt Germany, Leipzig Germany, Bruxelles Belgium, Luxembourg, Marbella Spain and also in different top locations in Europe / outside Europe.

We offer representation internationally to both emerging and professional artists and also local representation in Madrid by searching continuously for new opportunities to build the connection between the artists and collectionists and also to connect the art with emblematic institutions as embassies , interior designers, architecture studios and decorators, international companies, and 5* hotels.

We're very much interested in your artwork. This would be a great opportunity to discuss a possible collaboration.

I am pleased to inform you about our next international project, our participation at the international contemporary art fair ¨Intennational Contemporary Art Fair of Luxembourg¨ organized from 17th to 19th of September of 2021 in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

The immense variety of styles and disciplines that will be exhibited at the fair promises a special experience for all, collectors and visitors, and if you're interested in this project, If you're interested in the project I'll be pleased to present you the complete information.

We'll stay in contact for everything.

Best regards from Madrid.

Yours sincerely,

Francisco
Anonymous said…
Can someone tell me if Monat Gallery is the same?
Anonymous said…
I just received a message on my IG account from the GALERIA AZUR MADRID asking if i want to exhibit in a collective exhibition,and that they asked for money also!!
I was contacted by the curator Lara.
If somebody received a similar message i would like to know
Anonymous said…
Hello to all,i am a italian painter I received a message also a few months ago asking for money from GALERIA AZUR MADRID,i was contacted by the director Lucas Kokogian,they told me that this how is a new gallery i need to invest first,i have asked another artists and they told me that they received the same message.I decided not to participate because i think this is a SCAM only to pay and exhibit inside of this gallery.If they really have 3 gallerys how they say you do not ask for MONNEY!
A total SCAM!
Anonymous said…
I was contacted also with this type of message by Maria Stola by IG also,inwas verru happy to hear this but once i told this to a friend of mine he told me the same that it was contacted also with the same message:)))))THIS IS A TOTAL BULSHIT.
IF THEY WANT MONNEY THEY NEED TO GO TO WORK NOT SCAMMING POOR ARTIST.
If i want to exhibit my works inside of a space is better to rent it that paying high fees.
SO BEWARE OF THIS!!!FRAUD
Ogurtsov Artem said…
I am an artist from Russia.
A month ago I received an email from the MONAT Gallery (Madrid)
I was offered to participate in a group exhibition with the possibility of sale. I paid 500 euros for this, signed a contract and have to send them two artworks. But now I fear that this is a scam.
Anonymous said…
Hi Ogurtsov Artem,
Do you get any sale yet from the Monat gallery?
Unknown said…
Hi my name is Daniella Bronzi and als received a mail from monat gallery. And it is good I am reading about this, I do not trust it and think it is not oke to have to pay,
Anonymous said…
How about EXCELLENCE ART GALLERY, i was contacted by Giuseppe Carnevale to exhibit in Monaco,If somebody was contacted also i would like to know because i’m afraid to invest 1500 euros in an arfair.If you know how are selings with this gallery,if they are serious.
I’m afraid to send money and artworks to a gallery that i do not know.
Thanks
Anonymous said…
warning - MARIA STOLA ASKING FOR MONEY!!! BULLSHIT

I got today an offer from GALERIAAZURMADRID

god we have to avoid sharks like these.....
Anonymous said…
How many Maria they have? The person who contacted me from Monat Gallery is also called Maria. Not sure about the last name. Will these two be the same Maria from two different gallery?
Anonymous said…
I have just recieved a email from Monat Gallery Madrid. Does anyone else have experience with them. And, have anyone actually gone through sending art work to them?
Unknown said…
BEWARE PEOPLE, NO SERIOUS GALLERY WILL EVER ASK YOU A CENT TO EXHIBIT....THEY HAVE TO INVEST IN YOU IF THEY LIKE YOUR WORK
Anonymous said…
Regarding Van Gogh Art Gallery in Madrid. It's a scam. Unless you fly to the art show, you will not get the exposure you think you will after paying all that money. I signed my contract in October 2020 and paid the 1,000 Euros for the exhibition at the Art3F art show in Brussels in November 2020. Due to COVID, the Brussels show was postponed many times and actually only took place in November 2021. It is important that you know, once you have given Van Gogh the 1,000 euros, they will not refund your money if the show is cancelled or postponed. What they will do is keep stringing you along with promises of getting you into the next show. Due COVIDs impact on international flights, I have no proof Van Gogh fulfilled their contract with me and sent my artwork to Brussels for exhibition. I don't even have proof my artwork was ever taken out of the shipping crate I sent them in. Particularly, I asked for photographs of my artwork at the Art3F show and they have basically ignored me. Right now I am doing a battle with them over the return of my artwork. When I asked for instructions on how to get my artwork, back they asked if I wanted to pay again to get into another show. I said absolutely not and it has been a nightmare dealing with them ever since. Save your money and participate in a local artshow. Van Gogh is not worth all that money.
Anonymous said…
Galeria Azur contacted me through IG, so I started to do some research. If you want to get your art on display in their physical exhibition, you need to pay them 1000-1500€. Only two pieces can be put up for display. Rest is displayed digitally on Artsy. I'm surprised Artsy wants to be involved with this kind of a gallery. Shame on them!

Check out how many artists participated and there for payed in the last exhibition. It's about 30 artists, so you do the math! €€€!
Artists also pay shipping and the gallery takes commissions of the sold art. Although according to Artsy they don't sell much, few pieces per show if even that.
This is a vanity gallery! It doesn't look good on your resume! Wake up!
Anonymous said…
Good afternoon dear artist friends,

We received exactly the same kind of email, from a gallery in Madrid called "Galeria Gaudi". They propose participations in Art3f fairs in Europe, with a minimum cost of 1000 euros to share the fair costs.
It seems that our spanish friends are well organized in making artists dream of success.
So please be careful with this gallery too.

Kind regards.
Anonymous said…
Hi all!
Just received a mail to my non professional address, it seemed weird for a reason I suppose… anyway, for me it was Monat Gallery from Madrid represented by Adriana Becerra. I never replied.
Please never pay to be represented as an artist, you already worked “free of charge” while searching and applying for grants, now it’s time your schedule work be paid for, not the other way around!!
Cheers,
Eva Debreceni
evadebreceni.wordpress.com
Anonymous said…
The Holy Art Gallery sent me a message on Instagram and offered me to participate in an exhibition that would have lasted ten days for £180 and 15% commission. However, they did not answer the questions I asked, such as how many artists have usually participated in their exhibitions. They claimed to sell art online but did not say where and how much. I didn't find their online gallery, because they don't have one. They weren't really interested in my art either, any art would have been fine for them. Very shady.
Kent said…
HI all, thank you for sharing. Yesterday my wife received a similar but from another gallery called Galeria Azur of Miami, supposedly with location in Berlin, Madrid and Argentina. Yet, I find interesting its the same requirement $1,500 payment to get in then 30% on top of the event sales.
Anonymous said…
Hello everybody! Have you ever heard of Monat Gallery in Madrid? I received a proposal for a fair in Belgium... but I don't know how serious they are, does anyone know them? Thank you

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