Adam Lindemann, the founder of the New York gallery Venus Over Manhattan, was apprehended by police from East Hampton to Montauk on July 5 after allegedly entering The Ranch, the horse farm–sperm– art gallery owned by former Marlborough Gallery chairman Max Levai and hustling the dealer. According to the police blotter in the July 13 edition of East Hampton Press, Lindemann “entered private property—through an open front door with a ‘No Trespassing’ sign—and entered a building being used as an art gallery without permission”, where he “pushed another man in the chest with both hands.” Charged with third-degree criminal trespassing and second-degree harassment, Lindemann was issued a court appearance ticket.
Lindemann’s attorney, Edward Burke Jr., appeared in court today in place of his client, Artnet News reports. Burke requested that the trial be moved and claimed that Lindemann planned to plead innocent. “These accusations are absurd,” Burke said. “My client has been to the Ranch several times since it opened three years ago.”
Levai, the son of former Marlborough Gallery manager Pierre Levai, opened The Ranch in 2021, after he and his father were accused of mismanaging Marlborough and subsequently expelled from the family business. Lindemann, the offspring of the late billionaire financier and collector George Lindemann, has since 2015 owned Eothen, Andy Warhol’s former seaside summer home, which adjoins the horse farm. (Interestingly, prior to the launch of The Ranch, Lindemann disavowed the idea that he was a neighbor of Levai.)
According to Burke, who identified Levai as the victim of the stampede, the dispute between the two men stems from “several issues [Levai has] with the City of East Hampton regarding zoning code violations. [Levai’s] the frustrations should be directed at the city, not my client,” Burke said. “I am very confident that these charges will be dropped.”
