Christian Rosa had the knack for attractive people. As an up-and-coming art star in Los Angeles, New York and Vienna He has entered the good grace of dealers, collectors, and fellow artists who are reportedly obsessed with his loose, abstract-style works that fall into the category of “zombie formalism.” An artnet writer described Rosa’s art as “a light bulb of visual joy.”
“He has always been a kind and talented artist to us,” Michael Hort, a New York-based collector who bought about half a dozen of Rosa’s works, told Post. “Before he got into trouble … he was very friendly and generous. We like his work and buy it when we like the artist’s work.”
Among his boosters was Raymond Pettibon, who was famous for creating the black flag logo for the punk band and recording cover illustrations for groups such as Sonic Youth and Foo Fighters. Petibon’s coveted canvas is currently sold for as much as $ 1.2 million through top dealer David Zwillner.
“There is a lot of Instagram evidence that they are friends and that. [Pettibon] was [Rosa’s] Joseph Ian Henrikson, founder of the Anonymous Gallery in Manhattan, told Vanity Fair.
At a show at The Hall Gallery in Manhattan, the two artists painted portraits of each other. They were known for gambling together on dog trucks and exchanging art.
Petibon and Rosa, now 39, were tight enough that on September 17, 2019, the former Thank you for being tweeted To Rosa and another LA-based artist who convened with him: Great artists and kind and real people. You made my day. “
Currently 64 years old Petibon rarely did However, I know that his fellow Rosa was in the midst of a nervous, high-flying scam against him.
But two years later, on October 14, 2021, Petibon retweeted something else about his previous mentee. “Artist Christian Rosa has been charged with selling counterfeit Raymond Pettibon’s work.”
Christian Rosa Weinberger, also known as Christian Rosa, was engaged in a “plan to sell Raymond Pettibon’s counterfeit works,” according to a complaint issued by the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. The work in question is based on Petibon’s acclaimed “Wave Series” painting, depicting a giant water curl, sometimes involving surfers, and one “Is your motive pure?” Asks.
The alleged criminal activity described in the indictment as “a plan to deceive potential art buyers” is said to have been carried out from 2017 to 2020.As outlined in court Documents, around 2018, an unnamed collector arranged to sell Rosa’s two works to a third party who paid 6 digits. By wire transfer. The work comes with a fake certificate of authenticity.
Later, two more counterfeit paintings were sold to collectors. LA’s art insider expressed surprise that Rosa was able to convincingly copy Petibon’s work.
But in addition to owning Rosa’s work, Hort, who has 45 Petibon’s works, found it more reliable. “Petibbon is easy to knock off,” said Hort, co-founder of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation. “Duplicates are easy. They aren’t that complicated, but we’re going back and looking for new ones.”
Perhaps at an unrelated event, professional gambler Rick Salomon pulled Petibon out of the auction in 2020.
“Someone sold me [a Pettibon] Painting. I exchanged a real little petibon for cash. I thought it was an upgrade. Then I decided I didn’t like it … [and] Salomon told the post in the text. “The seller said he was going to sue me [for auctioning it]..I’ve never signed a piece of paper saying I can’t sell or put it in [it] At the auction.
“So I thought this was weird. My friend threatened to sue me. I … put it up for auction. In my understanding, Petibon called the auction house and it was a fake. I said that. ”
Cited in the indictment is Rosa’s “collusion” who wondered why the deal would take so long to complete.
Rosa explained through scrutiny of auction house experts that it is necessary to find a buyer who agrees to retain the job and not risk exposing its lack of authenticity. “I’m not about to be arrested,” he replied in a text. “That’s why [sic] Goodbye. “
According to the indictment, Rosa spent income from the second transaction “to make a down payment and subsequent mortgage payments in a California home.” On March 9, 2020, NW Riverside News reported that Rosa and fashion model Helena Severin bought a five-bedroom home in Riverside, California for $ 1135,000.
On January 29, 2021, Artnet released news that Petibon, which is being bought by art advisors in the secondary market, is causing suspicion. Dealers were reportedly worried about the irregularities in their work, including Artnet’s “seemingly strange yellow-green color mixed with Petibon’s normal cobalt blue,” misplaced text, and careful signatures.
The article claims that Rosa stole an unfinished work from Petibon’s studio, “completed it” and “trusted it to the secondary market as the owner as if it were a real item.” Mentioned “multiple sources”.
Rosa responded to the news by sending a message to his conspirator: “The secret is out.”
A few days later, Rosa sent an email to Petibon stating that the work was a “overpainted print,” according to the indictment.
A few weeks after Artnet’s exposure, Rosa has escaped from America. A few months later, the Riverside home he shared with Severin was sold. The indictment alleges that an attempt was made to “send funds abroad.”
Vanity Fair reported that Rosa called a friend during this time and described herself as “the most wanted in America.” The artist’s redo may have happened when Severin posted an Instagram photo showing a bottle of water from the local brand Milfontes, which revealed her location on the Allentejo coast of Portugal.
Earlier this month Rosa was arrested in Portugal and handed over to the United States.
Art insiders point out that Rosa’s reckless but rapid rise made the landing particularly difficult. This may have helped Rosa take desperate steps.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, he and his family Later I moved to Vienna “because Brazil was so dangerous”. Rosa appeared in Los Angeles around 2010. Stephen Simchowitz, an early benefactor of LA collector and gallerist, liked Rosa’s art, so at the time he rented an apartment for Rosa and bought art supplies in exchange for work.
“I happened to have dinner with a lot of friends, including Hugh Grant,” Simchowitz told Post. “”[Rosa] Come and charm, he told me he was broken. “
According to Simchowitz, despite the pile of shows in his gallery and rising prices, Rosa failed to realize the promised art and the friendship ended badly.
“all [Christian] Simchowitz said he was in a fierce match against Rosa while filmed in a German documentary. “There is always the idea that artists are victims, but there are situations where artists do not fulfill their obligations. Artists can be very unethical. They do crazy things. And can take an unethical position under the protection of being an artist. Christian was very unethical. I had to threaten him in a lawsuit. Pay I was able to recover a part of the painting. “
Rosa has another LA on undelivered art, which is stated in the statutory complaint that “six works … estimated to exceed $ 400,000” promised in exchange for “use or possession of plaintiff’s art studio.” I was sued by a collector.
According to knowledgeable sources, “We had to seize Christian Ferrari through a court order. It was in the garage. [large] An oiled photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger during his bodybuilding era. “
Or Proceedings According to Vanity Fair, Rosa, submitted in 2014 and the following year, “closed a new 11,000-square-foot studio space” in downtown Los Angeles. A-listers like Jay-Z and Leonardo DiCaprio were collecting his work. In 2014, his work won $ 209,000 at Christie’s.Hort believes Rosa “lived at that level” — that of an artist whose work is routinely sold in six numbers.
“The market then plunged,” Hort added. Rosa’s work was about $ 30,000. “He got stuck. He became stupid.”
Still, given Rosa’s talent, Simchowitz said:
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