ADC – Art Comes Alive Competition

My art came back from this show destroyed.
Their framer wrapped it for shipping and either it was damaged in their gallery or during shipping. Either way – that’s on them. They’ve washed their hands of it. Very unprofessional.

12 comments
  • Anonymous

    If you are considering sending art work to ADC Gallery in Cincinnati -DON’T!!! Upon viewing one of Litsa Spanos promotional videos, where she really promotes herself, I saw one of my large paintings that had been scanned, made into 4 separate art works and available for sale—all without my knowledge. . Don’t believe anything this person says. It’s all about her and what money she can make so she can promote herself. Get far far away from that place and her.

  • Anonymous

    I am an artist and worked with ADC Fine Art in Cincinnati Ohio from 2021-2023. They are terrible. Litsa Spanos is the worst. If you are thinking about working with them, don’t.

  • Anonymous

    In one of Litsa’s Facebook posts, I saw that one of my paintings had been sold and installed in a collector’s home. She didn’t bother to notify me of the sale until I asked her about it.

    I purchased advertising in their Blink publication for $1600. I found out through a friend of mine that they gave a “discount” to another artist. I never did get any of the heavily hyped “exposure” from buyers, collectors, galleries, etc.

    As for the Art Comes Alive event, all the correspondence I received from them gave me the impression that my work was selected to be shown, but not a single one of my paintings were displayed. I requested that all my work be returned to me. When I received the packages, I found that they had never even been opened.

  • Anonymous

    Subject: ADC Fine Art Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio January 22, 2023

    I write this letter solely for the purpose of informing my fellow artists far and near about an experience I had with this Gallery.

    I was represented by ADC Fine Art during Art Basel Miami 2022 in the Red Dot Art Fair. Litsa Spanos, Owner of the gallery called me on Monday December 5, 2022 to inform me that one of my large mosaics had sold at the close of show the day before. Spanos told me the buyer paid $19,000 and asked me to contact the buyer and arrange for delivery and installation of the piece.

    I delivered the artwork to the collector on December 12, 2022 as per agreement and sent a few installation pictures and thanked him for purchasing my art. I never ask a buyer their price, however, I had been getting progressively uncomfortable with ADC Gallery, so I asked the collector what he paid for the art. This collector told me he had paid $24,500. The check I received from the gallery showed that my payment was based on $19,000 and not the actual sale price of $24,500.

    In a phone call on January 5, 2023, I asked Spanos what my art sold for. She told me it sold for $24,500 and I asked her if she saw a problem with that. She said no. She went on to explain: “I made a decision on behalf of ADC. Also I felt that was a fair decision. Ultimately a dealer can choose what they sell the artwork for. All they have to do is do the right thing to the artist and give them what they feel what the artist needed for the piece.”
    She continued: “So it really isn’t of your concern. You got what you needed. You got what you needed and more. Now the only thing is I probably should have told you but I knew that you would probably be upset about it which you obviously are. If you’re going to ask me to give you more I am not going to.”

    Litsa Spanos also stated that she’s been in business for 30 years and has a great reputation and “sometimes has to bend the rules to benefit the parties without compromising the artist.”

    The moment this gallery owner Litsa Spanos crossed the line and lied to me, all trust was broken and our business relationship was irreconcilably broken. She has made it clear that she has no intentions of settling the balance due of $4,950.

    This gallery dealer has transacted over $100,000 of just my art in only 13 months. To actively practice this kind of policy surely does not promote sound
    gallery/artist relations.

    I no longer recognize ADC Fine Art as a reputable honest gallery.

    • Anonymous

      Thanks for sharing your experience with ADC. I will check my gallery contracts from now on to make sure it says 50% of the sale price.
      I know this isn’t your major complaint with ADC but why would you be responsible for delivery and installation? Isn’t that part of what the gallery commission covers? I had a piece with ADC in another art fair. Not only did I have to pay commission if it sold but I paid for the wall space at the fair. Unfortunately for me my piece didn’t sell, so I never had to deal with delivery etc, but I was out the fee for the show. This is how they pay for booths at these art fairs. Doesn’t seem fair to me. I had another gallery at an art fair charge me a reduced commission because I paid for wall space in their booth. They also handled delivery and installation. Still for what it cost me, I only broke even with that sale.
      I’m just learning the business so I appreciate you posting about your experience.

      • Anonymous

        Good question on the delivery and installation. I’ve always worked with my galleries and in certain situations, taking on the task to deliver is ok with me. Actually, in this case, they did not ask me in advance about the delivery. This further describes the nature of how ADC operates though. I wanted to keep the focus solely on the dishonest sale. I think your off to a great start because you are proactive in investigating gallery artist relations reviews like this. Best of luck with your future art endeavors!

    • Anonymous

      I have no idea what you’re talking about. We have never scanned artwork and displayed it – NEVER! Please come out and explain yourself and tell us who you are and why you are saying such things!

  • Anonymous

    I also participated in the Art Comes Alive. Had a special shipping box made for sending the painting. When it was shipped back, it was poorly wrapped in cheap cardboard and they kept the shipping box, which they verified when I telephoned them. Their cavalier response was ( from the gallery head), well at least you got your piece back.

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