Daniel Sikkema, the estranged husband of murdered New York art dealer Brent Sikkema, was found guilty in Manhattan federal court on charges related to a murder-for-hire plot. Prosecutors proved that Daniel orchestrated the killing of Brent Sikkema, founder of the Chelsea gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co., at his vacation home in Rio de Janeiro in January 2024, amid a bitter divorce and custody dispute. Daniel was convicted on three counts for conspiring to hire Alejandro Triana Prevez, a Cuban former security officer, who stabbed the dealer 18 times. Daniel faces a mandatory life sentence.
The case has deeply shaken the contemporary art world, as Brent Sikkema was a highly respected dealer known for championing emerging artists and building the careers of major figures like Kara Walker, Vik Muniz, Jeffrey Gibson, and Sheila Hicks. The murder highlights the intersection of personal tragedy and the high-stakes art market, and the trial's outcome brings a measure of closure to a crime that stunned the international art community. The gallery, now renamed Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, continues to operate in his legacy.