A legal dispute between brothers Prajit and Projjal Dutta over the branding of their respective New York galleries has escalated into allegations of physical violence. Harry Hutchison, a director at Aicon Art, filed a complaint alleging he was severely injured after being assaulted by Projjal Dutta at their shared Great Jones Street business premises in April 2024. Projjal Dutta has countered these claims, asserting he acted in self-defense after being shoved by Hutchison and accusing Hutchison of filing false police reports.
This escalation highlights the extreme volatility of a long-standing trademark and contract dispute following the 2019 split of the original Aicon Gallery. The case underscores the complexities of shared institutional history and physical infrastructure in the art world, as both galleries continue to operate out of the same building while litigating over the rights to the 'Aicon' name and allegations of unfair competition.