Delfi Orchard forcibly shut Tang Contemporary Art’s Singapore gallery over alleged unpaid rent and disabled the lifts to its sixth-floor space. Artists and suppliers say they’re still owed money. The closure took effect on Oct. 8. Gallery staff arrived to find the entrance locked.
Who Pays
Artists and suppliers say they remain unpaid. The report gives no amount owed and doesn’t specify how many artists or suppliers have made claims. Their statements identify people and businesses awaiting money from the gallery, even as Delfi Orchard shut the premises over alleged unpaid rent.
The gallery occupies 7,500 sq ft. Delfi Orchard closed the sixth-floor space and disabled the lifts serving it. Staff who arrived on Oct. 8 found the entrance locked. Access to both the gallery and its entrance was cut off.
A mall spokesman confirmed that the premises had closed but didn’t provide a reason. The stated basis for the action is alleged unpaid rent; the spokesman’s confirmation offered no explanation for the closure.
What the Closure Leaves Unanswered
The known facts establish a closure and an allegation, not a confirmed rent debt. Delfi Orchard acted over alleged unpaid rent, while the mall spokesman confirmed the 7,500 sq ft premises had closed without giving a reason. The report gives no figure for the alleged rent, no account of a dispute over the amount, and no statement from Delfi Orchard explaining its action.
The report also gives no amount for the money artists and suppliers say they’re owed. Their claims appear in the report, but it doesn’t provide details of the unpaid sums. The gallery manager, meanwhile, said an exhibition scheduled for October would go ahead. That is the gallery’s stated plan, even as its Singapore premises remain shut and the lifts disabled.
A Second Closure
Tang Contemporary Art’s Singapore troubles follow the abrupt closure of one of its Hong Kong outlets. The report offers no further details about that closure, including its date or reason. It says the Singapore shutdown came after the outlet closed, while leaving the circumstances of the earlier closure unstated.
The sequence is limited. One Hong Kong outlet closed abruptly; Delfi Orchard then forcibly shut the Singapore gallery over alleged unpaid rent; and artists and suppliers say they’re still owed money. On Oct. 8, staff arrived to find the entrance locked. The mall spokesman confirmed the premises had closed but gave no reason, while a gallery manager said the October exhibition would go ahead. The statements leave the alleged rent, unpaid sums and exhibition plan distinct: the closure is confirmed, the rent remains alleged, and the manager has said the exhibition will proceed.