Brent Fay Sikkema (August 13, 1948 – January 15, 2024) was an American art dealer. He was the co-founder of Sikkema Jenkins & Co, a Manhattan art gallery that represents artists including Kara Walker, Louis Fratino, Arturo Herrera, the estate of Tony Feher, Vik Muniz, and Jeffrey Gibson.[1][2]
Early life
editSikkema was born on August 13, 1948, in Morrison, Illinois, the younger of two children of Dwaine Louis Sikkema and Emily "Billie" (Howe) Sikkema.[2] He attended the San Francisco Art Institute.[3]
Career
editSikkema began working with art in 1971 as the director of exhibitions at Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York and opened his first gallery in 1976, in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.[3] He was a partner in the art gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co, which is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The place was founded in 1991 by him under the name Wooster Gardens.[4]
Death
edit| Murder of Brent Sikkema | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bedroom of the victim's winter home in Rio de Janeiro's Jardim Botanico district, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil |
| Date | January 15, 2024 |
| Target | Brent Sikkema, art dealer |
Attack type | Suspected murder for hire, stabbing |
| Weapon | Knife (17 stab wounds) |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victim | Brent Sikkema |
| Participant | 1 |
| Motive | Suspected child custody, life insurance, divorce proceedings |
| Accused | Daniel Garcia Carrera Sikkema (victim's ex-husband), Alejandro Triana Prévez (suspected assaliant, fomer bodyguard) |
Sikkema died on January 15, 2024, at the age of 75, after he was stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro townhouse.[5] Two days later, 30-year-old Alejandro Triana Prevez was arrested as a suspect.[6][7] Sikkema sustained eighteen stab wounds, most of them to the face and chest, and $3,000 was stolen from his home.[6] On February 9, Alejandro Prevez told the police that Daniel Sikkema, the victim's ex-husband, promised him 200,000 dollars to kill Brent.[8] According to the investigation, Daniel's motivation was the dispute over millions of dollars from Brent's estate, who was a partner in an important art gallery in New York.[9] The police investigation said that Sikkema changed his will in May 2022, and his ex-husband, Daniel Garcia Carrera, the alleged mastermind behind the American's murder, was no longer the beneficiary of the inheritance.[10]
On March 21, Daniel Sikkema, the victim's ex-husband, was arrested for passport fraud in New York, in the United States.[11]
On July 1, the FBI, the United States Federal Police, has joined the investigation into the death of gallery owner Brent Sikkema in Rio de Janeiro and conducted the crime scene investigation in Jardim Botânico, alongside American prosecutors, Brazilian police officers from the Capital Homicide Division (DH) and members of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF).[12]
On August 30, the defendants attended a hearing on the case at the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro. During the hearing, Daniel, who is speaking via video conference from the United States, asked for a Spanish translator to read the complaint.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Home Page". Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ a b Heinrich, Will (21 January 2024). "Brent Sikkema, Influential New York Gallerist, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Brent Sikkema (1948–2024)". Artforum. 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Brent Sikkema: quem era o galerista encontrado morto na Zona Sul do Rio" [Brent Sikkema: who was the gallery owner found dead in the South Zone of Rio]. G1 (in Portuguese). 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ Porterfield, Carlie (16 January 2024). "Death of New York dealer Brent Sikkema in Brazil being investigated as a homicide". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Brazilian police arrest man in connection with killing of US art dealer". The Guardian. Associated Press. 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Leitão, Leslie; Freire, Felipe (18 January 2024). "Polícia prende suspeito de matar o galerista Brent Sikkema" [Police arrest suspect of killing gallery owner Brent Sikkema]. G1 (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ Freire, Felipe (9 February 2024). "Cubano preso por matar galerista diz que agiu a mando do ex da vítima; polícia e MPRJ pedem prisão dele" [Cuban man arrested for killing gallery owner says he acted at the behest of the victim's ex; police and the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro ask for his arrest]. G1 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Imagens inéditas mostram cubano que matou galerista Brent Sikkema manuseando besta; veja VÍDEO" [Unpublished images show Cuban man who killed gallery owner Brent Sikkema using a crossbow; see VIDEO]. G1 (in Portuguese). 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ "Ex-marido de Brent Sikkema mandou matar o galerista após mudança no testamento, aponta investigação" [Brent Sikkema's ex-husband ordered the gallery owner's death after a change in his will, according to investigation]. G1 (in Portuguese). 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Ex de galerista assassinado no Rio é preso nos EUA" [Ex of gallery owner murdered in Rio is arrested in the USA]. G1 (in Portuguese). 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Grubertt, Bruno (1 July 2024). "FBI entra na investigação da morte de galerista no Jardim Botânico e faz perícia no local do crime" [FBI joins investigation into gallery owner's death in Jardim Botânico and conducts crime scene investigation]. G1 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Coelho, Henrique (30 August 2024). "Réus por morte de galerista participam de audiência na Justiça do Rio" [Defendants in gallery owner's death attend hearing in Rio de Janeiro court]. G1 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
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