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I do not know if this belongs here or not, if not, then please move it to spab's

An art curator in Israel, who is excited about my work invited me to participate in an exhibition in NY, at the Gateway Gallery, owned by Noah Perlis.
It was very gratifying for me, and I accepted this invitation. So I began preparing my pieces to ship to USA. The pieces I planned to send are to be wall pieces [flat 20 X 20" and a bit smaller]. I have some packaging staff from BE shipments, and planned to use it for the packaging. I guess BE people KNOW what they are doing - the fact is that the glass arrived here safe and sound.

THe curator refused to hang the pieces, she said I couldn't make holes in the gallery walls. Also she wanted me to have my staff packed by her packers, not by me.... She was even stupid enough to say that this man did the packaging for Chihuli.........
told her Chihuli has his own people to do it...

Meanwhile the gallery owner sent me thru paypal , a request to pay 450$ which I promptly paid.

Later, I realized that the pieces could not be wall hanged - and decided to cancel the whole thing...
THe curator got mad, refused to give me the gallery owner's phone that I could ring him, and ask for a refund.
Not knowing what to do, I opened a dispute on paypal.. Via paypal, I learnt the man's e-mail, and wrote to him a very polite letter, explaining the situation, asking for the return of the money, as I am NOT going to participate in this exhibition - which will take place in October 11th [2 month from now]
Next thing I know - paypal informs me, that the man asked to escalate the dispute [for a service I do not get] to a claim.

I do not know what else can I do, in order to have my money back

Does anybody happen to know this person?
Can you advise ???
I'd be grateful

Havi
Is there any better business bureau that I can turn to?

Hi Havi. Have you signed any paperwork or electronically agreed to any sort of contract? If you have, then you are bound by the conditions to which you have agreed, I would think. One of those conditions should address cancelling your participation in the show.

If you do not have a contract, then I would think the gallery owner can not keep your money since he does not have any reason to do so. He has done nothing to deserve the money, unless he has promoted your work, advertised your participation, or included your name specifically in materials he has printed and plans to distribute.

I am not a lawyer, thank God, and what I am suggesting is just common sense. Good luck and please post how this gets resolved, in your favor hopefully.

I would have very strong words with the curator no matter how well they liked my work. You should have communicated with her and had an understanding as to what was acceptable and what was not. Those specifics should have been established in the initial contract. Doing international business in the art world is not easy and there are lots of places it can go awry. Trying to get your money refunded in a country other than your native country can be time consuming and expensive. I would mark it up to experience and be very cautious about doing international business in the future. If things look too good too be true, they normally are too good to be true. I had a 13 page contract on one project I did and then had to pay an attorney dearly to examine it and make sure I was protected and not liable for all sorts of things. I'm very cautious of doing business with any new gallery and usually get lots of positive feedback from other artists I know before I commit to exhibiting.

Many thanks, Lynn and Tom!

1. The curator is an Israeli, who thought I was a great artist.
[I notice a big difference of response, between someone who is simply dealing with art, and someone who has some understanding in glass] In Israel I am relatively not too bad a glassie, compared to the big shots we all know, I do not think I am that big.

2. I DID NOT sign any contract with ANYBODY, not the curator, neither the gallery owner.

3. Eventually the gallery owner responded to my mail, claiming that by the act of paying the 450$, I agreed to the terms and conditions [which I never saw, or received], I just got an invoice from paypal - and paid it. Had I not filed a dispute on paypal - but turned directly to him, something could have been arranged. But I could not get any means of contacting him, only via paypal AFTER I filed for the dispute.

4. The Israeli curator, after some unpleasant blaming me [by mail..] said she found another artist to substitute for me. She said I should wait a few days till she gets the money and she will pay me back.

5. I am hesitating whether I should wait until I get my money back and THAN cancel the dispute, or cancel the dispute and wait for the money. Logic says wait. But I am afraid they wouldn't pay if I do not cancel, and of course I would not trust any of them now.

Very grateful for your responses
Havi
ps meanwhile had all my new staff professionally photographed. The photographer who is the best in Israel, and an acknowledged artist on his own, said he enjoyed taking the photos, one can see that you have "invested" a lot in them. This is more encouraging, as he really works with the top artists in Israel. Also with collectors and Museums
I'll post something once I get the photo's

Look what a Google search threw up:

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ni ... is&f=false

I hope you can resolve this in your favour, Havi.

I would not cancel the dispute until it is resolved to my satisfactory.

Via Paypal, how did you pay? If you used a credit card you might be able to pursue a dispute through them if it doesn't work out through Paypal.

Dana

Good idea, Dana!

I might check with the cc company here.

I am waiting now for the curator - to return my money. She said she found someone to substitute for me at the exhibition.


Thanks!

Havi