Anna Delphi Unveils Surrealist New York Art Gallery of Prison Paintings

“I am a masterpiece! I am a masterpiece!” “Look at me, I am Anna,” cried Drag Queen Yuhua Hamasaki as she excited the entire crowd Anna Delphi A costume in the solo art gallery of the fake heiress imprisoned for one night only. Hamasaki’s impression of the subject of Shonda Rhimes’ limited Netflix series “Inventing Anna” was just the beginning of a surreal experience put together by Founders Art Club and Delvey art dealer Christopher Martin at the Public Hotel in New York City. Thursday night.

The allegedly titled collection includes 20 pieces of art drawn by Delphi, legal name Anna Sorokin, and herself from the Orange County Correctional Institution in New York. Before actually showing the job, guests at the exclusive event were treated to cocktails, such as “Anna on ICE” and a recorded message from Delvey played by a DJ. (Of course, Delphi herself couldn’t be there for obvious reasons.)

“This is a conference call from ‘Anna,’ an inmate at the Orange County Jail,” one recording said, with Delphi writing her name when prompted. “To accept this call, press zero, to reject this call, hang up or press one. Your call was not accepted. Please try again later.”

“what!” The crowd shouted, before Delphi’s voice came loud and clear: “Hello everyone, Anna Delphi, here. I hope you have enjoyed your evening so far. I am so excited to reveal my first ever art collection, Allegedly.” This is a set of drawings. I created while you were in the Orange County Detention Center.I wanted to capture some moments of yesteryear, whether never before or imaginative, with the limited tools at my disposal.Some of the pieces are straightforward, others are more abstract and will be unique in meaning and appearance to the viewer. I studied fashion drawing in Paris and didn’t really draw until my trial.”

Delphi concluded, “I’ve heard a lot of voices already, but this is the beginning of my story telling from my point of view. I hope you guys enjoy the show.”

Delphi, a Russian-born German woman, made her way to the highest branches of business and society in New York by pretending to have a fortune of $60 million. She’s managed to live a high-end life on yachts and private jets, while doing some creative accounting to get funding to launch an art group “The Anna Delphi Foundation” – which she almost succeeded in doing. She was convicted in May 2019 of eight counts, including grand larceny, attempted grand larceny and theft of services.

Delvey was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison, a $24,000 fine and nearly $200,000 in restitution. She eventually served just under four years and was released in good behavior in February 2021, before being detained again, this time in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for overstaying her visa. In February, she said Wrote an article for Insider Thinking about her time in prison and her participation in Netflix’s “Inventing Anna” led by Julia Garner.

Work was shown at Delvey’s “alleged” show, created mostly from pens and pencils available to her in ICE custody, by models wearing sheer black headpieces, large black sunglasses, little black dresses, black boots and white gloves. The twenty gold-framed pieces were handled with the utmost care by the exhibitors, despite the constant shortage of space due to pressure on nearly every inch of the party.

Once the art had moved on to the tours, attendees were instructed to move to another location in the hotel where it would be on full display. During this re-located segment, Delphi appeared live from Orange County Detention to wave to the crowd in an orange jumpsuit and smile in front of the plethora of press that turned out for her event. “It’s great to have everyone!” Delphi said with a smile.

The value of the Delvey collection is estimated in the range of $ 400-500 thousand per art dealer, Martin.

“Reproductions of the art and lithographs will be on sale and sold in lots of 50 pieces at a time, starting at $250 each,” said a representative from the Delvey team. diverse Thursday. “And after 250 sold, the price started going up. If you wanted to own the collection, you could only own up to 48% of the collection. 53% of the collection would always be owned by the Founders Art Club. So you can buy limited prints, but not the original artwork. “.

New York galleries collectors like Swann Galleries and Contra Galleries were among those in attendance Thursday, with many collectors interested in buying what Delvey said in her drawings.

“Well, I’m still learning about her, to be honest,” said Kristina Weinmann, a friend of Martin. “But I think the fact that she was so limited in her supplies and her artwork is an extension of her story, her backstory and gives viewers an insight into her.”

Hamasaki, who was hired to make “short skits” of Delvey during the party, is also interested in choosing an original Delvey: “If I can afford it, of course. I’ll put it on my subway card. Yeah, and don’t worry, the money transfer is coming in at As soon as possible “.