Artists want their works back after Old Montreal gallery closes with paintings still inside

The owners of an art gallery in Old Montreal say they are going through bankruptcy and have shut down temporarily.

The problem is that all the art is still inside and the artists want their paintings back.

"I feel like, as an artist, you always have to keep pushing, and there's loads of things that are going to be thrown at you," said Sophie Bastien.

She is among dozens of artists worried about their art, which is locked up inside Le HangArt Saint-Denis, located on St-Paul Street.

"You just need to keep pushing. You need to be fierce," she said.

But despite her fierceness, none of the artists have been able to get their art back.

"The paintings are stuck," she said. "We just want to have our stuff back, because it's our livelihood."

A group of artists with paintings for sale at the gallery has formed an online group to organize and try to get the works back.

Group members are worried the sudden closure is due to unpaid rent by the gallery owners, but the owners deny that's the case.

CBC News reached out to the gallery owners for an interview,and received an email response from one of the owners, Hervé Garcia.

The email says the owners are in corporate and personal bankruptcy,and that the company is collapsing because of the difficult economic climate. The email goes on to say that the gallery's doors will open in the coming days, and the art inside will be returned to the artists.

He said two artists started the Facebook group founded on baseless information that spread, spurring a surge of hateful messages.

"It is fortunate that the majority of artists do not embark on this manhunt," he said.

He said his story is one of hundreds as businesses struggle to stay afloat. The gallery owner said there's 15 years of hard work behind this gallery, and he has lost his retirement plan and life savings.

While Garcia said the gallery will open soon, Bastien worries it won't happen soon enough.

CBC reached the building's owner by phone. He said he couldn't talk about the status of the lease with the gallery because of a confidentiality agreement.

But he did say the paintings are safe, and he wants to make sure they're returned to their rightful owners.