Artist Robert Strati cancels OSU exhibit to protest buildings named for Les Wexner

Robert Strati, an artist known for artworks that combine broken porcelain plates with detailed ink drawings, has canceled an upcoming exhibit at The James Cancer Center gallery to protest Ohio State University buildings named after Les Wexner.

Wexner, the billionaire art collector and founder of Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands, sat for a nearly five-hour deposition with lawmakers about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein behind closed doors last month.

He is known for having a long financial relationship with Epstein through the 1980s until he said he severed ties with him in 2007, which has led to scrutiny as authorities investigate ties between the former financier and his associates.

Lawmakers recently revealed previously redacted names in the U.S. Justice Department’s Epstein files, which showed that Wexner had previously been identified by the FBI as a co-conspirator, though he has never been charged with any crime related to Epstein.

Strati was set to show work from his “Fragmented” series at the OSU-affiliated cancer center’s art gallery on March 19 but said in an emailed statement that he has decided not to move forward with it. The artist graduated from OSU with a degree in art history in 1992.

The cancellation comes amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s network after lawmakers released previously sealed documents connected to federal investigations into the disgraced financier.

“I believe institutions dedicated to healing and public trust must align their symbols with their values,” Strati said.

“Until the university removes Leslie Wexner's name from all campus buildings and clearly affirms its opposition to the violence, exploitation and abuse revealed in the Epstein files, and to any relationships that enabled or participated in such harm, I cannot in good conscience proceed with the exhibition.”

The Ohio State University Medical Center announced in 2012 that it was renamed to honor Wexner, a 1959 graduate and benefactor of the university.

“Les has been among Ohio State’s most dedicated leaders and most passionate supporters for many decades, and someone who continues to make an indelible impact on our community,” E. Gordon Gee, then the president of the university, said in a statement.

“His generous contributions, both in time and resources, have been wholly transformational, but his most valuable gift has been his extraordinary leadership. He has a firm and unequivocal vision for our academic Medical Center and that is to be a world-class institution, period.”

Gee noted that Wexner “and his affiliates” had donated more than $200 million to the university by the time the medical center was renamed, as well as hundreds of millions more that Wexner directly helped to raise.

In 2011 alone, Wexner with his wife Abigail and his company’s foundation gave $100 million to the medical center, the James Cancer Hospital and the Wexner Center for the Arts.

“It is upon each of us to stand unequivocally against inhumane acts and to demand accountability from anyone connected to them,” Strati said.

“This decision is made out of respect for the patients and caregivers at The James, and out of a belief that integrity and accountability matter, especially in spaces devoted to care.”

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