ART HEISTS - DRAWING ATTENTION

By Caryn Rousseau, The Associated Press - August 2, 2006

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

'The Break-Up' gave artist Francine Turk the break of her career. Brisk sales, celebrity photo-ops and, well, a robbery. Turk's rising popularity (and commercial rates) led to some unwanted attention in the form of a break-in at her gallery and the whisking away of 10 of her paintings.

It used to be a lot simpler for Turk.

Three years ago Turk opened a small studio and gallery where she sold her charcoal and oil works. She knew she wanted more exposure and took her drawings and paintings to the popular Chicago Antique Market. Within an hour of setting up her booth, the set designer for 'The Break-Up' -- the summer hit starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn that filmed in Chicago -- approached her.

"He gave me his card and said he liked my work," Turk said. "He picked from everything I had."

The result of that right place/right time meeting? In the movie Turk's pieces were prominently hung on the walls of Aniston and Vaughn's condo. With a big Hollywood production on her resume, Turk's gained name recognition in the art world. Life was good. Turk was attending star-studded movie premieres and collectors were grabbing her paintings -- especially the ones that appeared in the movie.

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BREAK-UP TURNS BREAK-IN

On the night of June 12, Turk worked in her gallery. She laid out paintings to be framed and had other works hung on the walls. Clients were due the next day. She went home and went to bed.

At 7 a.m. on June 13, her home phone started ringing. Turk said she thought that was odd. She didn't usually get phone calls that early. It was one of her gallery's neighbors calling. Glass was shattered and a van had just pulled away from the business, they told her.

When Turk arrived, just two pieces were left hanging on the gallery walls.

"There was actually a footprint right on one of my drawings," she said. "It was a van that pulled up right here next to the front door. Shatter, boom, out. They just grabbed everything they could and ran out."

Nothing else of value was gone, just her paintings. Police arrested Michael Gutweiler, 23, a student Turk had hired to help with odds and ends after her popularity grew. The case is pending.

"I really believe in my heart that if the person who was arrested is guilty (and I don't know if he is or not,) it simply boils down to someone who saw me making a lot of money and thought they were going to cash in on that," she said.

None of the stolen works have been recovered and they haven't surfaced at auctions or on eBay, Turk said.

"You feel violated, because it's artwork so every piece is a part of me," she said. "Immediately it felt personal to me."

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MOVING ON, MOVING UP

These days, Turk finds herself even more in demand. She's decorating Hollywood stars' homes and designing more art for big-screen sets. Just like her career, her gallery is getting a makeover too -- new furniture and a paint job. Turk wants a fresh start.

"I've done a total cleanse," she said. "I've thrown away everything. My art looks completely different than it ever has. It was a humongous turning point in my development as an artist. I want to raise the bar and be the artist I've always wanted to be."

Her new show is called "Isolation and Anonymity" -- a reflection on her transition from an obscure Chicago artist to a sought after presence in the worlds of art and entertainment.

She's accepts what happened.

"I just feel like it was meant to happen for some reason," Turk said. "It's just another step in wherever I'm heading."

But she's trying to prepare for what's next and realizing that her own days of isolation and anonymity may well be over.

"I feel stronger and more bold than I ever have in my career," she said. "But I still sometimes just want to hide because, lord knows what kind of weirdoes are out there. I still kind of want my privacy."

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Caryn Rousseau is asap's Midwest writer, based in Kansas City, Mo.

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