More Artwork Stolen From Local Gallery
by Laura Monteverdi, Reporter
December 08, 2012 8:33 PM
For the second time in just a couple of weeks, artwork has been stolen from a popular Sioux Falls art gallery. The first pieces were stolen two weeks ago.
"They took two paintings right off the front wall and just walked right out with them," said Tove Bormes, owner of Rugs and Relic.
Now two more paintings are missing.
"I guess they liked what they saw," said Tove.
The paintings were taken from Rugs and Relic, a gallery at 8th and Railroad Center. Bormes said she's stumped as to who would want to steal not just from her gallery, but also from a hard-working artist.
“Art is supposed to speak to who you are and I'm not sure how you can hang that on your wall and feel good about the fact that you stole it from the person that created,” said Tove.
Carly Zebell is the artist who had her work stolen from the gallery last Thursday.
“You put in thought. You put in time. You put in a good chunk of money and to not have any sort of recognition, to just have it taken from you it kind of just sucks,” Zebell.
Zebell is a young artist who lives her life with a paintbrush in hand, but her passion isn't just a hobby. She was one of the many artists featuring her work in the Artist Against Hunger event on Saturday and Sunday and a portion of her sales benefit Feeding South Dakota.
“It's not just taking money from me. It's potentially taking money from a charity event,” said Zebell.
Even after what has happened, Zebell is still able to look at the glass half full.
“Kind of in an odd way it's sort of a blessing in disguise. With this happening it's actually brought some good awareness and recognition to our event,” Zebell said.
While no one knows what exactly happened to the art, Bormes and Zebell remain hopeful.
“The goal here is to get the art back and I don't really care how that happens,” said Tove.
The owner of the shop said she recently spent $1,200 on security cameras in the hopes that it will put an end to the thefts.
