Tristian Koenig, a disgraced Australian gallerist accused of bilking several outraged artists he’d represented, went on the run in August after a warrant was issued for his arrest. According to local artist Mark McCarthy, Koenig—who’s being sued by at least seven artists—was in Richmond, Melbourne, on Monday evening.
McCarthy told The Daily Beast he’d bought a pair of shoes from an online seller he later recognized as the fugitive dealer after the two met up in person at 6 p.m. on October 10 in the Melbourne suburb. Koenig’s last known address is located in Richmond.
Browsing Facebook Marketplace, McCarthy spotted a pair of North Face boots listed by a seller named Tristian Koenig and was stoked: he’d been looking for new kicks to “crash around in.”
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“These would retail at around $300, but they were priced at $40 and they were my size,” McCarthy said. “They weren’t exactly what I was looking for, but for that price, I said I’d take them.”
McCarthy has spent over 20 years on the Melbourne art scene and was aware of Koenig by reputation, but didn’t make the connection right away: The seller’s name “rung a bell,” McCarthy said.
Several collaborators who’ve worked with Koenig allege that the dealer is a relentless manipulator and bully who’s cheated them out of thousands of dollars owed for sales, as well as regularly withheld dozens of works of art, several of which are still unaccounted for.
Artist Seth Birchall claims Koenig owes him $36,000 for a total of 18 paintings he produced and gave to Koenig and never saw again. The artists suing Koenig, represented by art law solicitor Alana Kushnir, are seeking $27,000 they say they’re owed, along with the return of 39 paintings. The Daily Beast reached out to Kushnir for comment.
Koenig would allegedly go to extreme lengths to delay paying artists and dealers he worked with, including claiming he was battling cancer and debilitating depression or that his mother was dying, several said. “He’d put you down or find your Achilles heel or your doubt, and he’d really go there, which is just the most bizarre thing,” Lara Merrett told The Daily Beast in September. “There was no sense of apology.” The Daily Beast reached out to Merrett for comment on this story.
When McCarthy met up with the seller at a small block of apartment units in Richmond to pick up the boots, he said he “seemed a little bit disheveled. He had a bit of a bushy beard, and he didn’t strike me as someone I would know.”
By sheer coincidence, McCarthy told The Daily Beast he later went back on Facebook Marketplace and noticed another item listed by Koenig. “I clicked on his profile and saw we had a lot of friends in common, but I didn’t find those stories about him being on the run until I Googled his name,” McCarthy told The Daily Beast. “I felt a little bit guilty about buying the shoes afterwards.”
McCarthy went to the police on Monday night, “and they knew about him,” McCarthy said. “They had knocked on his door already, and they were aware of where he lives and his contact numbers.” McCarthy provided The Daily Beast with an address and phone number for Koenig: Our calls were picked up, but the person who answered the phone did not speak, or respond to questions.
It’s unclear whether the warrant for Koenig’s arrest has been recalled. The Daily Beast reached out to the Victoria Police and the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for comment; both declined to share further information.
“I just sort of took the police’s advice to keep him at an arm’s length and to not have much to do with this guy,” McCarthy said.
