Curator Virginia Brilliant Settles Lawsuit With Art Dealers Robilant + Voena

Robilant + Voena

Virginia Brilliant, a former curator with international art dealership Robilant + Voena, has settled her lawsuit against the gallery owners Edmondo di Robilant and Marco Voena and the namesake gallery. Brilliant’s lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged sexual harassment and other discriminatory behaviours in the workplace.

Mitchell Cantor, Brilliants attorney, told The Art Newspaper that a “confidential settlement agreement by which all parties are bound” had been reached and that the case had been resolved.

Brilliant worked at Robilant + Voena from 2019 to 2023. Her $3 million-plus suit detailed allegations against Voena that he fostered an environment she termed sexually toxic and used vile language when talking about LGBTQ+ Black and Jewish individuals.

Though the settlement details have not been disclosed, the case sheds new light on claims of harassment and discrimination within the art world, where workplaces and their culture are increasingly under fire.

Marco Voena, a prominent Old Masters art dealer, once declared in an interview with Alain Elkann—Italian novelist, journalist, and ex-husband of Fiat heiress Margherita Agnelli—that his Italian heritage and humanist respect for other cultures made him ideally suited to exploit the booming art markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. However, these lofty proclamations starkly contrast with the now-settled allegations from his high-end art empire, casting a shadow over his once-sterling reputation.

The lawsuit chronicled details of Brilliant’s tenure at Robilant+Voena, the gallery she joined in 2019. With locations in London, Milan, Paris, St. Moritz, and New York, the gallery is known for its Old Master paintings and a mixture of US and Italian Modern and Contemporary art. It has sold masterpieces to institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Brilliant holds a PhD from London’s Courtauld Institute of Art and previously held positions at the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Her impressive CV and curatorial acumen were no defence against the alleged relentless harassment.

Often viewed as a bastion of refinement, the broader art community faces a reckoning with these explosive revelations. The past allegations against Robilant and Voena painted a picture of an industry marred by unchecked discrimination, challenging the perception of a healthy workplace.

Robilant + Voena and their attorneys responded to the allegations formally. The suit had demanded over $3 million in damages, including unpaid commissions, compensation for the hostile work environment, and medical expenses.

This is, sadly, yet another high-profile case of unhealthy work practices within the art community. Leading London Art dealer Anthony d’Offay was accused of racism and sexual harassment in 2019; not only was his name stripped from the Tate’s Artist Rooms programme, a display that he funded. He is no longer welcome in the tight clique of artists, galleries, and museums he had helped to create. There is no room for this type of boy’s club behaviour in our privileged industry. – AB

Photo: Courtesy Alain Elkann Online

Read More

Visit

Tags

, ,