– I think that he is a real villain and a liar, and shouldn’t have a gallery. To deceive artists in that way, it doesn’t work. That’s what Ingrid Thortveit says, one of six artists who have reported fraud defendant John Hedemark for embezzlement. Ingrid Thortveit believes John Hedemark has defrauded her for works of art worth NOK 40,000. Photo: Stefan Hoareau Hedemark, also known under the fictitious artist name “Werner Jensen”, tells news that he does not recognize himself in such descriptions and that he wants to pay all the artists back. He has always denied criminal guilt. According to him, it is the police investigation that has put a stop to the payments. – After the investigation, which has lasted for two and a half years, we ended up in a financial liquidity crunch which meant that the gallery has not been able to settle everything outstanding, says Hedemark to news. He also says that the situation is regrettable for the “innocent artists”. This is how John Hedemark explains the situation news has presented John Hedemark with all allegations directed at him. Hedemark is charged with fraud and embezzlement, but denies any criminal responsibility. He vehemently denies all allegations against him, but describes the situation with the artists as deplorable. Hedemark says he has always wanted to pay all the artists back, but that it has been impossible as long as the police investigation has been going on for the past two years. “At no point did I see this taking so long. If I had done that, I would have closed the door the day after the police were there.” “After the investigation, which lasted for two and a half years, we ended up in a financial liquidity crunch which meant that the gallery has not been able to settle everything outstanding.” About artist Ingrid Thortveit’s claims, Hedemark says the following: “There is, of course, nothing we regret more than that she, as an innocent supplier, ends up in such a situation, but as I have also previously said, this would not have happened if, back in 2020, when the police took action, we had knew this would take so long. No, then we would have shut down the next day, but we tried to keep it going and hoped it would work out.” Furthermore, Hedemark says that he is still working to find a solution for the artists. “Also, there is also a court case pending and no one has been convicted there yet.” Police prosecutor Andreas Meeg-Bentzen does not want to comment on Hedemark’s claims that the police have spent a long time investigating him. This is the “Werner Jensen” case In August 2020, plainclothes police raided the gallery at Frogner and seized over 200 works of art. The paintings they were looking for were signed Werner Jensen, Knut Olesen and Erik Krohn. In the interview with news, Hedemark admitted that he painted under all three of these names. Hedemark is now charged with gross fraud. In total, the customers must have paid 272,000 for the pictures signed by fictitious artists. Six artists have also reported Hedemark for embezzlement and believe they have never been paid for artwork Hedemark exhibited in his gallery. Met in the pandemic Thortveit says that she met Hedemark when she was looking for places to exhibit her art in the middle of a dark pandemic lockdown. The painting “CO-DIVIDED” was among Thortveit’s artworks that were sold via the gallery to Hedemark. Photo: Ingrid Thortveit She met Hedemark in his gallery at Frogner in Oslo. He encouraged her to send an email with her resume and photos of her art. – He seemed very interested in getting new artists to the gallery, says Thortveit. – Think you can trust him A few months later, Hedemark called and wanted her pictures in his gallery. They entered into a commission agreement in which they divided the profit between them – 40 per cent to Hedemark and 60 to Thortveit. Thortveit felt she had landed a good deal. – Hedemark is very pleasant and sociable, he appears as a well-behaved frog boy. You think you can trust him, she says. The painting “Covidance” by Ingrid Thortveit was also exhibited in the gallery in Hedemark. Photo: Ingrid Thortveit But the payments were delayed. It wasn’t until Thortveit received an email from a customer that she began to sense that something was wrong. – He told me that he liked my picture and that he had bought it from Hedemark, she says. But Thortveit had never been told that the picture had been sold. When she contacted Hedemark, the excuse was that he had been travelling. John Hedemark is charged with gross fraud and has been reported by six artists for embezzlement. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news After struggling for months, Thortveit was paid NOK 25,000. But later it turned out that he had sold many more of her works than she realized. – It is about NOK 40,000 that I have never received, says Thortveit. Extensive fraud Thortveit’s story is not unique. news has been in contact with all six artists who have reported Hedemark for embezzlement, but several do not wish to be named. The police reckon that there has been embezzlement for a value of at least NOK 127,000 spread over at least 31 different works of art, according to the indictment. Grethe Ravnaas believes Hedemark has defrauded her of around NOK 100,000. Photo: Private It is only the sums of money that the police believe they can document. In addition, artist Grethe Ravnaas believes that Hedemark owes her around NOK 100,000. – I have tried sending emails, calling and sending SMS. He has said he will sort it out, but I haven’t heard anything, she says to news. She says that she delivered 10 pictures to Hedemark’s gallery, after he contacted her after an exhibition she had in 2018. After the two had entered into an agreement on how much she would be paid for each painting, there was silence. “Eventually I just gave up on the whole thing,” she says. Paintings missing After a while, Ravnaas was contacted by the police who could tell that an investigation had been launched into Hedemark’s art activities. They suspected that Hedemark engaged in art fraud, including by selling art under false names and several other matters for which he is now being prosecuted. When the police contacted Ravnaas, they wondered if she could come to see if her pictures were still in his gallery. – Then I took out five paintings, says Ravnaas. One of the pictures Grethe Ravnaas lent to John Hedemark. She estimates that it is worth NOK 20,000. She has so far not been reimbursed any of what he is supposed to have earned from the sale of her pictures. Photo: Grethe Ravnaas But several of the paintings she had given to Hedemark were already gone, without Ravnaas seeing any profit. Blame the police Hedemark says to news that he has always wanted to pay all the artists back, but that it has been impossible as long as the investigation has been ongoing. – At no point did I see that this would take so long. If I had done that, I would have closed the door the day after the police were there, explains Hedemark. The day he refers to took place in August 2020 when civil police raided the gallery at Frogner and seized over 200 works of art. Police attorney Andreas Meeg-Bentzen does not want to comment on the police’s use of time. Police prosecutor Andreas Meeg-Bentzen will not comment on the police’s use of time. Photo: Gry Veiby / news – It will be up to him how he chooses to put his words around that. We note in the indictment that these artists have not been paid for the pictures that have been handed in for sale and who have chosen to report this to the police, he says. Revealed identity John Hedemark was charged on Wednesday with fraud, including for selling art under the fictitious name “Werner Jensen”. Paintings signed by Werner Jensen had been sold for over 20 years when news was able to reveal last year that John Hedemark was behind it all along. Then Hedemark admitted for the first time that he was all the artists behind the pseudonyms Werner Jensen, Knut Olesen and Erik Krohn. Here, John Hedemark admits that it is he who is behind the stage name “Werner Jensen”. Now, two years after the investigation began, Hedemark is being prosecuted for a number of matters: gross and simple fraud violation of the Art Tax Act for keeping a car hidden from creditors violation of the Weapons Act, after the police found pepper spray at his home six cases of embezzlement Done for trial Hedemark has always denied criminal guilt and says he is ready and motivated for the case to now go before the Oslo District Court. – I really just want to finish this here. We think we have a pretty strong case, so we’ll see who comes out the best in the end. In any case, we are in good spirits, he says. But Grethe Ravnaas is unsure whether she will ever see the rest of her money again. – I have tried to get him to pay me off for a couple of years without him coming back to me. So I don’t know what it takes for him to do something, she says. Listen to the Updated episode about “Werner Jensen”:
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Artist tells about how she was enticed by John Hedemark (Werner Jensen) – news Culture and entertainment
