Jeffrey Deitch's gallery has apologized for hosting a performance by rapper Lexa Gates that was deemed an unauthorized derivative of performance artist Miles Greenberg's work. Gates's 10-hour piece, 'The Wheel,' involved walking inside a spinning wheel at the gallery to promote her new album, closely echoing Greenberg's 24-hour 2020 work 'Oysterknife,' which was previously screened at the same location. The gallery stated it had rented the space to Gates's record company and was unaware of the event's content.
The incident has sparked debate about authorship and intellectual property in performance art, highlighting the fine line between inspiration and appropriation. It raises questions about gallery accountability when renting spaces and the ethical responsibilities of artists and institutions in acknowledging artistic precedents, particularly when works involve significant physical endurance and conceptual weight.