Posh and Insanely Expensive Restaurant in Grodno Got Into a Scandal Over Paintings by a Belarusian Artist
Belarusian artist Dina Makarevich accuses the trendy restaurant The Cult in Grodno of using her paintings for free to decorate the interior. But she hoped they would be sold!
The talented artist Dina Makarevich shared details of the unfortunate situation on Threads.
According to her, the restaurant The Cult initially took several of her paintings to display in the hall. Payment for this arrangement was not provided, as the artist was told they would be sold. In fact, this is a common practice: cafes take paintings to decorate the interior and place information under them about how much they can be purchased for (for example, the bistro-bar «Vinovnitsa» in Minsk operates this way).
A reminder: this year, a new boutique hotel and restaurant The Cult opened in Grodno, at 37 Vilenskaya Street, on the site of a historic building — and immediately sparked a mixed reaction due to its prices. The hotel and restaurant were opened by Grodno fashion designer Iryna Zvonka together with her husband. They attracted guests with interiors "like from Pinterest".
It was from Iryna that Dina clarified whether the restaurant could place gallery-type labels with the necessary information under her works. She replied concisely: «Yes, we'll order them.»
By the way, there's a reel on The Cult's account praising the artist's paintings, but even there, nothing is said about them being available for purchase.
About half a year later, an acquaintance of the artist was dining at The Cult and noticed that no labels had appeared under the paintings. She wrote to Dina that she would never have guessed the works were for sale.
The artist decided to clarify with the owner what was happening. And she suggested that the restaurateur simply buy out the paintings to avoid misunderstandings.
«Do you think it's that easy to get something custom-made in Belarus?!» — replied Iryna Zvonka.
Dina herself moved to Warsaw, and at this moment is actually in Bali. So she asked Threads users: «Please tell me, how difficult is it to print a piece of paper in Belarus? Have the printers run out there?»
Most commentators agreed that Iryna Zvonka's behavior doesn't look very good. Blogger Maria Hurbanava commented: «The paintings are cool, we saw them live and would never have thought they were for sale. Take them back immediately.»
Iryna Zvonka herself also appeared in the comments. First she wrote: «Printed pieces of paper are not hung in restaurants.» And then she flat-out stated that she no longer wanted to cooperate with the artist: «The artist is not in Belarus; you can contact her regarding purchase, and pick them up from us at The Cult.»
«Nasha Niva» — the bastion of Belarus
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