The famed New York City art dealer Brent Sikkema was found dead inside his Rio de Janeiro apartment this week, police announced on Tuesday, with Brazilian media reports saying he was stabbed with a sharp object.
Sikkema, 75, had been living in the affluent neighborhood of Jardim Botânico, near the Tijuca forest, which he described as being an urban “oasis” in a 2022 interview with the magazine Idea Fix.
The Brazilian national police told the Associated Press they were probing Sikkema’s death as a homicide, though other details about the slaying have been scant.
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Firefighters were reportedly called on Monday night to Sikkema’s apartment, where authorities say he had wounds that suggested he was killed by a sharp object, reported the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. CNN Brasil reported that the wounds could have been inflicted by scissors, a box cutter, or a screwdriver.
Many details remain unavailable, but G1 reported the “main line of investigation” is that Sikkema was killed as part of a robbery.
Sikkema worked in the art world for more than five decades, launching his contemporary art gallery Wooster Gardens in 1991 in Manhattan. The gallery moved and underwent named changes over the years, but Sikkema remained involved.
Over his career, Sikkema represented prominent artists like Kara Walker, Jeffrey Gibson, and Vik Muniz. Business partners at his gallery, now named Sikkema Jenkins & Co., released a statement Tuesday about his death.
“It is with great sadness that the gallery announces the passing of our beloved founder,” wrote Meg Malloy and Michael Jenkins in a statement to The New York Times. “The gallery grieves this tremendous loss and will continue on in his spirit.”
