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Carpenters Workshop Gallery denies allegations of sexual and financial impropriety
Carpenters Workshop Gallery has denied allegations of a culture of sexual impropriety and questionable business ethics, such as reported by the Air Mail newsletter last week.
“We are of course saddened by the content of the article published on Airmail on June 8th. We do not accept the allegations, which are largely linked to a commercial dispute which we cannot comment on due to ongoing legal proceedings,” a spokesperson for the exclusive design company told The Art Newspaper. “We are enormously proud of the business, the community of artists and the valued team members we have established and developed over the past two decades. We are committed to continuing to grow and support each other in the years to come.”
The Air Mail report claims to be based on “more than a dozen interviews” with former employees and artists represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery (none of whom are named), which was co-founded by childhood friends Julien Lombrail and Loïc Le Gaillard in 2006. and has galleries in Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles. The company represents some of the biggest names in design, including Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé and Dutch Atelier Van Lieshout, as well as the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and Virgil Abloh. She counts Brad Pitt, Tom Ford, Chrissy Teigen, Dasha Zhukova and her ex-husband Roman Abramovich among her most renowned collectors.
The report details alleged inappropriate sexual behavior, mistreatment of artists and dubious practices in the art market – including the bidding of artists’ works that were auctioned.
According to the Air Mail report, Le Gaillard and Lombrail behaved inappropriately towards some female employees. Working conditions at the Carpenters’ Workshop were also criticized.
The artists spoke, anonymously, about the alleged mistreatment at the gallery regarding invoices and expenses. An artist is believed to have taken legal action in the UK, which is ongoing. Others reported a different experience: Hannes Koch of Random International told Air Mail that he was always paid promptly and had no problems with the gallery.