Degenerate Political Art. The Epstein–Lang Connection

Following revelations contained in the so-called “Epstein Files,” France’s respected former Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, and his daughter, Caroline Lang, face allegations of tax fraud and money laundering. Among the evidence cited against them is the creation of an offshore company that was supposedly engaged in speculation through the buying and selling of artworks by promising young French artists.

    Degenerate Political Art. The Epstein–Lang Connection uses the information available on this case to expose the perversions underlying the art market and the cultural industry—practices that have little to do with the humanistic value of Art.

    To this end, we have created an art gallery registered in an offshore jurisdiction and installed a gallery fair booth inside the Lyon Biennale. Operating under the name Prytanee LLC Gallery—appropriating the same name as the company established by Epstein and the Langs—the gallery offers a single painting, commissioned from the young and talented French artist Renaud Suanez. The work is based on the now widely circulated photograph of former Culture Minister Jack Lang alongside Jeffrey Epstein, with the Louvre as the backdrop.

    At the Prytanee LLC Gallery booth, visitors are attended to by a gallerist who also provides information about the details of the Epstein–Lang case, tax-engineering strategies involving art, and the ways in which powerful individuals use philanthropy as a mechanism to increase the value of artworks, gain social prestige, and generate economic profit.