Over the weekend, videos began circulating on social media allegedly showing FBI agents breaking into a Chelsea art gallery during an exhibition opening to confiscate what was described as a “stolen” Rembrandt masterpiece—right in the middle of a crowded reception. Among the first to post the video on Instagram was filmmaker and Instagram influencer David Ma (@davidwma), who has 172k followers on the platform and more than a million on TikTok. Ma saw high engagement on both accounts, with the Instagram post alone receiving 16.1k likes and 16.1k reshares as the video quickly went viral. One of the earliest reposts came from Düsseldorf/Zadar-based collector Andrew Jovic (@cyberkid70), while art advisor Dan Oglander promptly weighed in, commenting, “That’s a brand new painting…you can easily tell by the reflective sheen, taught nature of the canvas and lack of craquelure.”
From the start, the entire scene felt too perfectly staged and too absurd: why would a Rembrandt be hanging in an obscure, unknown gallery in Chelsea? None of the best-known Old Masters dealers have spaces or offices in that neighborhood. And, as Jovic pointed out, the painting itself appeared far too bright and glossy to be a historical work—it wasn’t even protected by museum glass, as would be expected for any multimillion-dollar treasure.
More significantly, the painting in question was The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, a Rembrandt masterwork famously stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in one of the most notorious unsolved art thefts in history. On March 18, 1990, two men disguised as Boston police officers entered the museum and stole thirteen artworks valued at approximately $500 million. None of the stolen pieces—including this Rembrandt—has ever been recovered.
A $10 million reward remains in place for information leading to the return of the stolen works, which include, in addition to the Rembrandt, one of only about thirty-four known Vermeer paintings, The Concert; another Rembrandt, A Lady and Gentleman in Black; Édouard Manet’s Chez Tortoni; several sketches by Edgar Degas; and a Chinese bronze beaker from the Shang Dynasty. Today, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is deeply committed to telling the story of the heist, leaving the empty frames hanging where the stolen paintings once were, both as a memorial to the crime and in the hope of their eventual return. The case remains one of the most prominent unsolved art crimes the FBI continues to investigate, and it is exceedingly unlikely the painting would ever surface on the legitimate art market, given that any attempt to sell it would be invalidated by title issues. Most experts agree it is likely hidden away—either sequestered in a private collection or circulated exclusively on the black market.
But back to the gallery raid. Not long after the footage went viral, the entire spectacle was revealed to be a performance orchestrated by a previously unheard-of entity calling itself 13 Masterpieces—a name that, in itself, nods to the number of works stolen from the Gardner Museum. The conceptual project was presented from Thursday, March 13, through Saturday, March 15, at Chelsea Walls Gallery (231 Tenth Avenue, between 24th and 23rd Streets).
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The gallery’s minimal one-page website read: “You are cordially invited. Reconsider absence, authenticity and the delicate boundary between what is lost and what endures. One weekend only.” In the “team” section, three avatars represented a nameless collector, the curator Lia C. and the assistant curator, Emma F., each accompanied by short comments. “I am thrilled to finally have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share my collection with the world,” wrote the collector. “This work simply deserves to be seen. Truly a career highlight to work with such historically significant work,” added the curator. The assistant curator, meanwhile, noted she was “honored to have even a small role in facilitating this momentous occasion decades in the making.”
Upon entering the site, visitors were greeted with a brief summary of the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist, closing with the statement: “Those are the facts. The rest is fiction.” From tone to presentation, the parodic and provocative nature of the project was unmistakable—evoking the spirit of someone like Banksy, whose art world interventions are legendary for their blend of prank, installation and social commentary.
When Observer attempted to contact 13 Masterpieces using the email listed on its website, our message bounced back. Not ready to give up, we dug deeper, attempting to trace the identity of those behind the website by searching for the domain owner. Right-clicking on the page doesn’t allow users to select “View Page Source” unless in incognito mode, but even then, that revealed nothing about the domain’s ownership. A Who.is search turned up a little more: the domain was created on March 6 and updated on March 11. The name of the LLC remains protected by privacy settings, though the registrant’s address—417 Associated Rd #327, C/O 13masterpieces gallery, Brea, CA, 92821—was visible. That address, however, simply points back to Dreamhost, leading us into a recursive loop.
We also reached out to David Ma, who confirmed he was present at the event but was not involved in organizing it. He did, however, suggest a new name: Andrew Soltys, a New York-based producer and founder of DVRG, a full-service creative studio. Though we reached out to Soltys, we have not heard back at the time of publication. Still, a bit more came into focus—over the weekend in question, DVRG posted the flyer for the show/performance on Instagram, in collaboration with @nycvenue, which was also tagged alongside @chelseawalls.nyc, which provided the event space. The flyer promoted “a new exhibit featuring legendary artworks that have been unseen by the public for 35 years – until now,” and closed with a coy warning: “Discretion is advised. Join us before it vanishes.” DVRG’s post caption also noted that a live string quartet would accompany the event, further confirming the meticulous orchestration behind this highly Instagrammable performance.
Although the identities of the people behind this performance have yet to be confirmed, what is clear is that the entire affair has cleverly tested—and demonstrated—a new dimension in which performance art can gain traction today: as content designed to circulate across social media, where influencers and brands can strategically leverage it to boost engagement with their audiences. In some ways, it’s a dynamic we’ve seen before—most famously with the theft of the Mona Lisa, which catapulted the painting to global fame as news of the heist dominated headlines. More recently, similar patterns have emerged through the viral spread of Banksy’s interventions worldwide and through the flood of Instagram footage from Anne Imhof’s polarizing performance at the Park Avenue Armory. Ultimately, this event, as absurd as it was, raises further questions about the increasingly entangled relationship between art, commerce and the algorithmic logic of social media. As storytelling and spectacle become ever more central to the dissemination of contemporary art, happenings like this one can and no doubt will be appropriated by influencers and brands seeking to amplify their digital presence.
Update 5.30 pm
Replying to Observer, Andrew Soltys eventually confirmed on a email that DVRG produced the stunt in collaboration with Eric Aronson and the team behind the feature film “Any Day Now,” a comedy/thrilled inspired by the infamous heist featuring actors like Paul Guilfoyle, best known for his role as Capitain Jim Brass CSI along with Taylor Gray and Alexandra Tampler. Aronson himself has 22 years experience in Hollywood as screenwriter working on a number of projects like Miramax, Disney, Lionsgate and Warners.
