Anna Schwartz, the owner of her namesake gallery in Melbourne, Australia, had reportedly ended her 36-year professional relationship with acclaimed Australian artist Mike Parr following his simultaneous use of the words "Israel and "Nazi" in an artwork housed in her gallery on Dec. 2.
'Israel' and 'Nazi': Anna Schwartz's Reason in the Cutting of Ties
Schwartz told ABC, on a Dec. 4 interview, that the reason she had put an end to the communication between her and the 78-year-old Parr, despite meeting almost four decades ago in 1986, is because of his artwork that was part of a trilogy called "Sunset Claws," which she describes as "hate graffiti,"
Although Schwartz had great respect for Parr's renown, calling him "the greatest artist this country has ever and perhaps will ever produce," she shared that Parr's latest foray to art, with his commentary piece including both the words "Israel" and "Nazi," made her "sick."
"That was the dealbreaker," she added.
These words that served as the "last straw" that broke the gallery's trust were written by Parr in a performative section of the exhibition, which according to Schwartz, had also included "a framework of conjecture" comprising accounts of sexual atrocities done to women during the Hamas invasion on Oct. 7.
"I can't work with an artist who has chosen to hurt me and insult my culture and the generations who come before me who have been annihilated," Schwartz said.
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Mike Parr's Response to Anna Schwartz's Decision
Despite Schwartz's apparent dislike for the exhibition, she said that she "in no way intervened nor censored Sunset Claws," citing the filmed version of the performance still playing in her gallery as evidence.
In another statement to the same publication, Parr himself shared that he "abhorred" antisemitism, urging people to see the performance for themselves and formulate their own opinions on the piece. The show itself occupies both floors in Schwartz's gallery with the video spanning over four and half hours of Parr's overall performance.
He continues by sharing that the gallery owner is "very well" aware of his performances' proclivity to politics, saying, "All my performances are controversial, they divide the audience."
"We're still a democracy and this is an issue that concerns many in the art world and many young artists in particular," Parr added about "getting canceled" as the "issue."
