BAMBOOZLED

On a recent trip to St. Petersburg, my good friend David Schoffman had the great good fortune to witness a milestone in modern art history. He was having tea at the Lagoda Rossi Café with the miniaturist Grod Bloch when Daphne Vhrozhinska of the State Russian Museum waltzed through the door. She was arm and arm with Los Angeles painter Dahlia Danton and both, in Schoffman's colorful retelling, looked stunning.

Dahlia Danton, St Petersburg, 2013

It should be remembered that Russian collectors seem to have an insatiable appetite for Danton's kitchy California confections and  her presence in St. Petersburg can hardly seem like an unlikely coincidence. As for her intimacy with the State Russian Museum's senior conservator - that is a different story. It seems that her expert eye and her fluency in Spanish made her a critical collaborator in Vhrozhinska's latest project.

The recently discovered Nido de la Víbora, Micah Carpentier's putative final work was undergoing a thorough cleaning by the nimble Russian restorer and Danton was called upon to verify the great Cuban's signature. My dear friend David asked to see the work - Carpentier and Schoffman had a warm and productive relationship in the late 1970's - though he was skeptical of the works authenticity.

Before you could say русский супрематизм, David was inspecting the 9 foot wide drawing, looking for hints of duplicity and fraud.

David Schoffman inspecting Nido de la Víbora, 2013

He didn't have to look very hard. 

As any art student will tell you Sakura Sensei Manga Markers come in an assortment of vivid, lightfast luminous colors. When they came on the market in 1989, they were an instant favorite among doodlers, Pokémon geeks and professional illustrators. Nido de la Víbora contains whole passages using these versatile markers.

My readers don't need to be reminded that Micah Carpentier was murdered in Havana in 1978.