Thieves stole a $120,000 oil painting by film director Harmony Korine from the Puck Building in New York’s Nolita neighborhood this past weekend.
Police confirmed the theft to the New York Post. Unfortunately, there is no surveillance footage of the crime, which took place in the lobby of the building located on Houston Street between Lafayette and Mulberry Streets.
Harmony Korine, Blue Checker (2014). Photo: Rob McKeever.
The painting, Blue Checker, was included in “Shooters,” the filmmaker’s 2014 solo show at New York’s Gagosian Gallery, at the 821 Park Avenue location. The exhibition featured works made using leftover house paint, crisscrossing the canvases with masking tape to create geometric patterns.
Korine remains best-known for his film career, particularly the 1995 classic Kids, which also launched the careers of actress Chloe Sevigny and Marlborough Gallery director Leo Fitzpatrick, and the 2012 hit Spring Breakers, starring James Franco. He has, however, been coming into his own as a globally-recognized painter having shown his artwork at Belgium’s Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, New York’s Swiss Institute, and the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003.
Harmony Korine with James Franco at the opening of “Rebel” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.
Photo: MOCA.
Korine’s art was also included in Vito Schnabel’s highly-anticipated, appointment-only exhibition at 190 Bowery, the run-down gilded age bank purchased by real estate magnate Aby Rosen.
Gagosian Gallery has not responded to a request for comment.