Alex Bag's 'The Van (Redux)*' Satirizes Art World Hustlers at Team Gallery

Alex Bag's video 'The Van (Redux)*' (2015) premiered in her first solo exhibition at Team Gallery in New York from January 14 to February 28, 2016. The work features Leroy LeLoup, a shady art pitchman played by Bag's brother Damien, who exploits three young children as unauthorized artists-in-residence at Miami's Institute for Contemporary Art. LeLoup steals items like Tito's Vodka and Cartier gift bags while appropriating museum spaces. The character broadly critiques art dealers like Stefan Simchowitz, known for promoting young artists Oscar Murillo and Lucien Smith. Simchowitz responded to the video, calling it 'a dumb and greedy caricature.' The piece uses excerpts from Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' soundtrack and references Elizabeth Dee, Bag's former gallery. Critics including Jerry Saltz, Christopher Glazek, Dan Duray, and Marion Maneker have scrutinized Simchowitz's practices. The video highlights broader issues of artist exploitation and market greed, with comparisons to works by Paul McCarthy, Maurizio Cattelan, and Andrea Fraser. Simchowitz defended his role as challenging institutional norms while acknowledging similarities to other dealers. The exhibition underscores ongoing tensions between artistic integrity and commercial pressures in the unregulated art market.