Tutt Street Gallery is up for sale.
Realtor.ca has a listing for 3151 Lakeshore Drive, Kelowna. The listing has only one photo of a sculpture and describes the place as a "Highly successful 40 gallery/gift shop/framing boutique." Realtor Mike Jamieson confirmed the listing is for Tutt Street Gallery despite using a neighbouring address.
The gallery was highly esteemed in Kelowna, but since it was sold in 2021 to Jay and Cydny Denyar, artists who had consigned with the gallery in the past say the new owners have not upheld its reputation.
Two artists who tried to continue work with the Denyars since 2021, ended up filing civil suits against them.
Jay and Cyndy, whose legal name is Cynthia Denyar, are both named alongside the gallery.
The first of the suits was filed Mar. 1, 2023, by Anita McComas Fine Art.
The civil suit alleged that Tutt Street owed McComas more than $14,000 for various reasons.
The Notice of Claim states the gallery had not paid McComas after selling pieces of her art that had been on consignment in the gallery and that when McComas reclaimed her remaining works from the gallery, three of her paintings were unaccounted for.
McComas filed for $14,139, the commission owed for eight outstanding paintings plus the cost of filing the documents with the courts.
As of June 20, 2023, McComas applied for a default order from the courts. Tutt Street Gallery and Jay and Cyndy Denyar were ordered by the courts to pay $8,606. A note on the order states partial payment of the original $14,000 had previously been received.
Black Press has reached out to McComas to see if the outstanding amount has been paid but has yet to hear back.
The second of the suits was filed by David Graff of Gilt Studio Enterprises on June 27, 2023.
The suit alleges that the Denyars and Tutt Street are in possession of 35 pieces of unaccounted-for artwork worth $180,030.
The Notice of Claim filed by Graff explains that an agreement had been made with the gallery that sales of artwork would be split evenly between Tutt Street and the consigning artist. Graff's suit states that despite demands for payment he had not received the $90,015, or half of the value of the unaccounted-for pieces of art.
Graff told Black Press the dollar amount owed to him has dropped in the year since he filed the claim. He said the gallery now owes him approximately $65,000.
The Denyars have denied Graff's accusations.
In a response filed Aug. 8, 2023, the gallery alleges Graff had not made any complaints when the Denyars first took ownership and that there was no written agreement, but "the plaintiff was happy with the payment process" of paying artist through a mailed cheque mid-month the month after the artwork has been purchased in full.
The Denyars also claim Graff failed to provide them with a change of address after he moved. The Denyars state the gallery bookkeeper issued replacement cheques by mail.
As of the filing of the response, the Denyars claim Graff had not asked for his artwork to be returned and had not requested a change in payment form.
The Denyars have denied the allegations and wrote in the response that Graff had never provided the gallery with a list of inventory and prices and his artwork has always been available for him to pick up with reasonable notice.
Cyndy Denyar alleges in the response that Graff showed up at the gallery on May 30, 2023 "with two large men without permission nor any prior notice." Cyndy was alone at the time and feared the gallery was being robbed as the "two large men started taking artwork off the walls and out of the gallery without any explanation."
The response claims Graff was "yelling and screaming at Mrs. Denyar, frightening her terribly." Cyndy allegedly tried to calm Graff, but he exited the gallery minutes later and left her alone with the two strangers.
Graff has obtained signed affidavits from the two men who attended the gallery with him that day.
Walter Ruloff stated in his affidavit that he and Graff have been friends for over 20 years. Ruloff claims himself, Graff and retired RCMP officer Richard De Jong entered the gallery around 11 a.m. The statement claims Graff approached Cyndy to inform her the group was there to retrieve Graff's artwork. The witness claims Cyndy was "agitated and defensive" toward Graff while Graff "remained at all times composed and straight forward in his approach."
Ruloff said he and De Jong started to remove the art belonging to Graff and loading it into a truck. He claims he could hear the conversation between Cyndy and Graff and "at no time did David lose his cool, at no time did David threaten Cyndy, at no time did David even raise his voice."
In an affidavit provided by Richard De Jong, he claims Graff spoke in a calm manner and explained to Cyndy upon entering the gallery of his intention to remove his art from the gallery. "During the whole time I was in the gallery listening to the conversation between David and Cyndy never did I hear or witness any physical aggression or assault by David upon Cyndy."
These claims have not been proven in court.
Other artists are alleging similar practices from the gallery, but have not filed anything within the courts.
Christine Reimer said before the Denyars took over she had sold 157 paintings through Tutt Street Gallery over two decades. Upon the change of ownership in 2021, Reimer told Black Press her art wasn't even on display and was instead being stored off-site "in a house basement, thus not available for sale and potentially in conditions unfit for artwork."
In an affidavit obtained by Graff for his civil suit, Reimer claims that not a single piece of her art has been sold through the gallery since the Denyars took over. Reimer has since collected all of her consigned work from the gallery and has ceased doing business with Tutt Street Gallery after having successfully sold through the shop since 1997.
Quebec artist Diane Burnet told Black Press that after nearly two years of fighting to have Tutt Street Gallery send her art back to her by mail, she finally received them.
Brunet said she had a similar experience to Reimer. She decided to pull her art from the gallery in 2022 after not seeing her pieces displayed on the website and friends visiting the gallery telling her that her art wasn't out for viewing.
All of Brunet's outstanding pieces from the gallery were received by mail on July 22 of this year.
Progressive Fine Art located in Ontario claims Tutt Street Gallery owes about $90,000 to one of the artists they represent and is considering legal action.
Progressive's president Michael Havers said after more than 40 years in business throughout North America and some business overseas, "We have never come across a gallery that has set up their whole business to defraud and steal from artists."
Havers said the Kelowna RCMP have been informed. An officer with the Kelowna detachment confirmed they have received complaints against Tutt Street Gallery, but there is no investigation at this time.
Downtown Kelowna's Hambleton Galleries released a statement in support of artists on July 22.
"As the longest-standing art gallery in Kelowna, we at the Hambleton Galleries believe it is important to address recent events that have significantly impacted our local art community. We strongly condemn the mistreatment of artists and urge all galleries to commit to a code of ethics that prioritizes honesty and professionalism," the statement read.
Hambleton Galleries is encouraging galleries to create formal relationships with artists through the use of clear contracts, transparency and mutual understanding.
The gallery published its code of ethics in 2022. It can be found on the Hambleton Galleries website.
A Black Press reporter went to Tutt Street Gallery to request an interview. Cyndy said her lawyer would be in touch. Black Press has attempted to get in contact with Denyar's lawyer Andrew Liggett without success.
Graff received a cease and desist letter from a different lawyer representing the Denyars on July 29, 2024. The letter came from Brian Coen with FH&P Lawyers.
The letter claims Graff has "been making defamatory and false statements about [Tutt Street Gallery and Jay and Cyndy Denyar] to the media."
Coen is demanding that Graff stop making "defamatory and false statements" against his clients and that Graff "instruct others to remove all defamatory statements and content from the internet... and/or request a retraction to be published."
The letter claims that if Graff does not follow the demands laid out the gallery and the Denyars "will be forced to take the appropriate legal action."
Black Press Media also reached out to Coen for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
This article will be updated when and if the lawyers provide comment.
