Anna Delvey Unveils Surrealist New York Art Exhibition Painted in Prison

“I am a masterpiece! I am a masterpiece! Look at me, I am Anna. Anna Delway Dress up for a one-night solo art show for the imprisoned fake heir. Ayumi Hamasaki’s over-impression of the theme of Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix limited series “Inventing Anna” was just the start of a surreal experience offered by Founders Art Club and Delvey art dealer Christopher Martine at the New York City public hotel Thursday night.

The series, titled “Allegedly,” includes 20 artworks by Delvey, legally named Anna Sorokin, herself from the Orange County Correctional Institution in New York. Guests attending exclusive events can enjoy cocktails such as “Anna on ICE” and a Delvey-recorded message played by a DJ, before the work is actually shown. (Of course, for obvious reasons, Delvi himself can’t be there.)

“This was a collect call from ‘Anna,’ an inmate at the Orange County Jail,” a recording said, with Delvey acting in her name when prompted. “To answer this call, press zero, reject this call, hang up or press one. Your call was not answered. Please try again later.”

“What!” the crowd shouted before Delvi’s voice was loud and clear: “Hi everyone, Ana Delvi, here it is. I hope you’re all having a great time so far. I’m so excited to be rolling out my first one. Art collection titled “Allegedly”. This is a collection of sketches I created while in the Orange County Detention Facility. I wanted to capture moments from the past few years that were both unprecedented with the limited tools at my disposal Iconic again. Some pieces are straightforward, others are more abstract, unique in meaning and appearance to the observer. I studied fashion illustration in Paris and didn’t really start sketching until I was on trial.”

Delvey concluded: “You’ve heard a lot, but this is the beginning of my story, and I tell my story from my perspective. I hope you guys enjoy the show.”

Delvey is a Russian-born German woman who pretends to have a fortune of $60 million to break into the top branches of New York business and society. She managed to live a high life on a private yacht and jet, while doing some creative accounting to get funding to start the “Ana Delvi Foundation” arts group – which she almost managed to do at this point. She was convicted in May 2019 on eight counts, including grand larceny, attempted grand theft and theft of services.

Delvey was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, fined $24,000 and ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution. She ended up serving less than four years in prison and was released in February 2021 for good behavior before being detained again, this time by ICE for an expired visa.In February, she wrote an article for Insider Reflects on her time in prison and shares her thoughts on Inventing Anna, led by Netflix’s Julia Garner.

The pieces on Delvey’s “Allegedly” show were created primarily from pens and pencils available to her while in ICE custody, with models wearing solid black stocking-style hoods, oversized black sunglasses, little black dresses, black boots, and white gloves . The models handled the 20 gold-framed pieces with great care, despite the constant lack of space as media filled nearly every inch of the party.

After the artwork was completed, attendees were instructed to move to another location in the hotel, where they would all be displayed. It was during this resettlement segment that Delvey went live from the Orange County Detention Facility, waving to the crowd in her orange jumpsuit and smiling at the media that heavily covered her activities. “It’s great to have everyone!” Delvi said with a smile.

According to her art dealer, Martine, Delvey’s collection is worth between $4 million and $500,000.

“The artwork, reproductions of lithographs, will be sold in 50 pieces at a time, starting at $250 each,” said a representative of Delvi’s team. type Thursday. “Then after 250 were sold, their prices started to go up. If you wanted to own the collection, you could only own up to 48% of the collection. 53% of the collection would go to Founders Art Club forever. So you can buy Limited edition prints, but originals are not available.”

Collectors from New York galleries such as Swann Galleries and Contra Galleries were also in attendance on Thursday, several of whom were interested in buying what Delvey said in her paintings.

“I’m still learning this, to be honest,” says Martine’s friend Christina Wineman. “But I think her supplies and artwork are very limited and it’s an extension of her story and backstory to give the audience a sense of her.”

Ayumi Hamasaki, hired to play the role of Delvi during the party, is also interested in buying Delvi’s original: “Of course, if I can afford it. I’ll put it in my subway On the card. Yes, you don’t have to worry, the money transfer will come as soon as possible.”