Heights area H Gallery and its owner Heidi Powell-Prera were the subject of a scathing investigative piece in the Houston Press, accused of stiffing artists, pumping up their career hopes, taking their money, then paying out late or never when work sells. The usual story, told at great length by the Press’ John Nova Lomax, with the dollar figures in dispute in the hundreds, rather than the millions in swag in New York art gallery ripoff stories!
H Gallery gets the muck rake
1 comment
Thanks for giving some coverage to this story, Bill and Glass Tire.
Cause No. 995535 Court at Law No 2, Harris County, Tx. Date of Judgement April 23rd, 2012. Amount of judgment $100,959.20
Only four artists of dozens took the Gallery to court. The judgment was passed in favor of the artists in April 2012, which is now public record for anyone interested in the details. Of the mere four who pursued Heidi Powell and her mother, the tally was for $109,000.00, which is more than a few hundred dollars. Artists have continued to come forward with their stories of being defrauded since the article hit the airwaves. There were a couple of follow up articles to the one you sited in this posting which continue to detail the scamming of the gallery.
http://www.houstonpress.com/search/results/keyword:heist+/type:all/#type:all/keyword:heidi+powell+prera/
Any artists or patrons who have been scammed by them are encouraged to go to the District Attorney’s office and file simple complaint against them. A criminal case for intent to defraud is necessary to take the gallery out of Houston’s community.
Again, thank you for making mention of this in this forum. Every media reference to their highway robbery helps unknowing artists stay clear of their clutches.
Claire