Artgenève director Thomas Hug left the contemporary art fair pretty quietly last summer, having been its co-director for 11 years. At its opening this week, however, chatter will no doubt be centered on the recent revelation that he was in fact fired by the fair’s organizers over allegations of fraud and theft. Geneva’s art scene is in shock; Hug maintains his innocence.

Last week it was revealed by Bilan that Hug is currently the subject of a investigation and is facing charges of forgery, fraud, and mismanagement. It has been alleged that, since 2015, he has taken 1 million CHF ($1.15 million) from the Fondation Pour Les Arts Visuels, which organizes the fair. Hug allegedly used the unauthorized funding to acquire artworks, but it is not yet known whether these were intended for himself or a third party.

“When I discovered the extent of the embezzlement, I couldn’t believe it,” the foundation’s chair, Claude Memberz, told Le Temps. “I have always had excellent relations with him, it was I who hired him in 2011 to launch Artgenève. He had my full confidence. Today, I am disappointed, hurt to see that he lied to us, betrayed us, cheated us.”

Memberz added that he first became suspicious of Hug in 2022 after Sculpture Garden, a biennial open-air exhibition run by Artgenève. “When we saw that the biennial was losing money, we started to take an interest in the accounts,” he said. “We then put new control procedures in place. The former director did not respect them and new irregularities were noted at the beginning of summer 2023.” The foundation has filed a criminal complaint with the local authorities.

Speaking to Le Courrier, Hug’s lawyer said: “For twelve years, my client was tirelessly involved in helping Artgenève grow. He managed things in his own way, partly, it’s true, outside the framework set by his employer and he apologized for it. However, Palexpo and the Visual Arts Foundation did not suffer any financial damage and my client was not enriched.”

“The disputed works are all in the hands of the Visual Arts Foundation,” the statement from Hug and his attorneys continued. “Palexpo refused to meet my client so that he could clarify the situation, preferring to file a criminal complaint. The procedure is underway. My client collaborates fully and is confident. I regret that Palexpo has chosen to publicly disseminate its allegations against the person who allowed it to benefit from a spectacular development at Artgenève.”

The Fondation Pour Les Arts Visuels is owned by Palexpo, the large exhibition space where the fair takes place. Charlotte Diwan was appointed as the new director of Artgenève after Hug’s departure. She was previously the fair’s head of communications, partnerships, and VIP relations.

Artgenève is an annual presentation of contemporary and modern art that launched in 2012 as Geneva’s answer to the runaway success of Art Basel. Hug later founded the subsidiary fair artmonte-carlo in 2016. He has not wasted much time since being fired in the summer and has already founded a new salon, Gstaad Art, which is set to open on February 16. The status of those plans in the light of the details of charges against Hug that were made public last week was not immediately clear.

The 12th edition of Artgenève opens to the public on January 25 and runs through January 28. There are 70 participating galleries, including Thaddaeus Ropac, Perrotin, Almine Rech, and Hauser & Wirth. 

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