Stolen artwork: Barry McGee & Clare Rojas

I am posting this for Barry, Clare, and the RVCA staff.

The above two pieces of art were stolen from the SF RVCA store two days ago (not during the opening). They are from permanent/private collections and, without going into detail, have a great deal of sentimental value to the artists.

I don't want to go on a rant, but I'm having trouble holding back on this. To me there are only two conceivable reasons a person would do this:

1. You really really love this person's work and cannot afford it.

OR

2. You did it to make money.

The problem with #1 that it strikes me as an interesting dichotomy for one to seemingly have a large enough respect for the artist that they would risk doing something like this, yet knowingly be causing damage to the artists, gallery owners, and art scene in general. When this happens, everyone involved is much less likely to participate the next time around which is bad for us all. A knife in the back is an odd way to show love...

The problem with #2 is that naturally when fencing art you're going to be selling it at a drastic loss while simultaneously increasing your chances of being caught trying to do so. If we were talking about something you stole from the Louvre - yes, maybe I can understand that may be a risk worth taking for some people who stand to gain a few million out of it; but in all honesty what do you stand to make out of this deal, a couple hundred dollars? Not many buyers are willing to obtain knowingly stolen art by these artists.

If you have any information about this, or means of having the artwork returned - there will be absolutely no questions asked and no legal efforts made to follow up on you or any involved parties. They just want the pieces back. You may contact me privately (art@unaesthetic.net), any of the RVCA staff (415-701-7822), or set up an anonymous third party to communicate through.

peace.