I’ve reached my limit with contemporary art world antics
An outlandish story and a realignment with what I love
Last week I came across what remains my favorite—although not in a good way— bit of art news so far this year. It’s the kind of story that is both outrageous and totally par-for-the-course in the art world. Allow me to tell it to you.
Have you heard of an artist named Jean Paul Mangin? He is a French sculptor who makes wall-hangings that look like crumpled pieces of fabric. They’re shiny, colorful and splashy—typical fodder for slick galleries pandering to unsophisticated collectors. That seems like an awfully hot take this early in the article, doesn’t it? Not really, considering that Jean Paul Mangin does not actually exist. He was entirely made up by his gallery.
A work by Jean Paul Mangin.
Studio Gallery in Melbourne, Australia is the presumed creator of the very fictional Jean Paul Mangin. They sell “his” works on their website even to this day. Here is the link to prove it. I suggest clicking on it before it mysteriously disappears. You might be wondering why on earth a gallery would do such a thing, and in answering that question, things only get worse.
Jean Paul Mangin is actually based on a real artist that Studio Gallery used to show. Her name is Anya Pesce and you can see how similar her work is. While it’s not my personal style, it is demonstrably better than that of her fictional counterpart. Unsurprisingly. Pesce left Studio Gallery in 2021, and I guess they were so broken up about it, they created a fake stand-in for the hole she left in their stable of artists. I find that simultaneously hilarious and disgusting.
Anya Pesce with her work.
Now, I don’t know who is making the work at Studio Gallery since it’s not Jean Paul Mangin. It could be the gallery owners, Kerry and Michael Armstrong, but that has not been confirmed. What we do know is that the gallery has had the audacity to reach out to Pesce since her departure with technical questions about her work and how to mount it. A gallery wouldn’t need to inquire about such things if one of their artists was simply…making the work authentically.
As for any records of Mangin beyond Australia, there are none. The artist allegedly lives and works in Paris, yet he has no exhibition history outside of Studio Gallery and he cannot be reached for contact. The Armstrongs claim he is reclusive. How convenient.
This story sounds outlandish—and of course, it is—but it’s also not. I have worked in the private sector of the art world for 9 years now and I can say without hesitation that I have seen some shit. (Pardon my very real French.) I’ve seen it on national and international levels, but I’ve also seen it regionally, locally and within my own places of work. I’ve never signed any NDAs but I’m also not ready for my tell-all. You’ll be the first to know when I am, but for now, my lips are sealed on some of the stories from closer to home. I will tell you this, though: I am growing tired.
Maybe it was the banana that broke me, but my tolerance for and ability to laugh at the antics of the contemporary art world are wearing thin. You might have noticed that this publication has drifted further from musings about the climate of the art world and closer to art history. My interests increasingly lie with the eras that took art seriously, which I suppose explains my newfound fascination with the Renaissance. You’d be hard-pressed to find a time where art was taken more seriously. Back then, art wasn’t about attention-seeking publicity stunts or shady money grabs. It was about power and status, of course, but it was also about excellence, faith and the betterment of humanity. There are certainly artists today who work under these principles, and they are the only ones who interest me in the contemporary arena. When I find them, I share them with you, and I think you’ve come to appreciate that about Chouette. As I consider what I want to focus on in art this year, I think it’s going to involve less hot takes and horrified reactions, and more of what I simply love. I hope you’re up for that. Something tells me you are.
Great article! While this is disgusting and disappointing, it is hardly surprising. The Art world has really become a joke. It is a parody of itself, that has nothing to do with the product.. ya know.. the art.