iN VIDEO: Thieves steal roughly $70,000 worth of art pieces from Kelowna gallery | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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iN VIDEO: Thieves steal roughly $70,000 worth of art pieces from Kelowna gallery

Two suspects were seen taking sculptures inside the Gallery 421, Jan. 15, 2022.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kelly Hanna

Two brazen suspects made off with thousands of dollars in art pieces from a Kelowna gallery.

Last night, at roughly 1:58 a.m., two men entered Gallery 421, on Raymer Avenue in Kelowna, using a crowbar, and took just under $70,000 worth of sculptures, said gallery owner Kelly Hanna.

Video Credit: Kelly Hanna
Art heist at Kelowna Gallery

The heist was completed at roughly 2:02 a.m. The thieves escaped with 11 pieces of fine art, weighing roughly 300 pounds in total, Hanna said.

They took a bronze sculpture, a soap sculpture and blown glass, Hanna said, adding no paintings were stolen and the gallery was not damaged other than the door.

Video of the incident shows two men, who are roughly five-foot-10 and five-foot-six in height with medium builds, one wearing a dark hoodie and another in a grey one, in the gallery taking the sculptures and leaving the building.

“We’re offering a $1,000 reward for any sharing of information to the police that leads to an arrest,” Hanna said. "It's very disappointing."

The gallery has insurance to cover the stolen pieces.

Some of the pieces stolen include works by Michael Hermesh, a soapstone sculpture by Vance Theoret and a blown glass work by Jeff Holmwood.

The incident was reported to the RCMP, who arrived on scene roughly one hour after the incident, said Kelowna RCMP Cst. Solana Paré, via email. The investigation is ongoing at this time.

In 2020, the gallery was broken into and a computer was stolen but Hanna said she doesn’t believe the two incidents were related.

"Anyone with information about the break and enter and subsequent theft is asked to contact the Kelowna RCMP and provide file number 2021-2742," Paré said.

- This story was updated Jan. 16, at 9:11 a.m. to include a response from the Kelowna RCMP.


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