On Friday night at a pop-up event in Hollywood, Hunter Biden shared his work with the glitter of LA. In a large white room at Milk Studios, usually the site of photo or video shoots, about 200 people gathered to learn about the art of President Joe Biden’s son.

As was previously reported, his gallery owner, George Bergès, is looking for between $ 75,000 and $ 500,000 each for Biden’s paintings. And it raised ethical questions that the White House has not fully addressed. After all, what is the influence buying potential when a person can hand the president’s son hundreds of thousands of dollars for works of art that would cost a lot less if the artist didn’t share DNA? with the general manager? Bergès insisted that Biden not know the identity of art lovers who write six-figure checks to acquire his work. Yet the guarantees of this arrangement are slim, and government ethics experts have screamed. Coincidence or not, the art market is known to facilitate clandestine transactions, asset concealment and money laundering.

During the pop-up, there was little grumbling about the ethics of the moment, according to one participant. As appetizers and drinks were served, art lovers looked at works that appeared to be mostly reproductions. (It’s cheaper than the expedition.) An animated screening showed a multitude of paintings by Biden in progress. Artist Shepard Fairey (creator of the iconic Barrack Obama / Hope poster), musician Moby and the mayor of Los Angeles were spotted among those gathered. Eric Garcetti, who was national co-chair of Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and who was recently appointed by the president to serve as U.S. ambassador to India. Although only a handful of people in attendance wore masks throughout the event indoors – proof of vaccination was required for entry – Garcetti kept his on for the entire time he was present, notes the participant. A documentary crew was roaming around to film everything, and there was a larger security presence than usual at an arts event. Towards the end of the evening, a violinist started playing in front of the animated screening.

The participant shared some pictures of the event:

The painting (pictured above) which featured a large head featured a quote from a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher named Parmenides:

We only have one way left to talk about it, namely this one. There are many, many signs that what is, is uncreated and indestructible, alone, complete, unchanging, and endless. It never was and never will be, for it is now, all of a sudden, going on.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy describe Parmenides thus: “Active in the first part of the 5th century AD. AEC, [he] is the author of a difficult metaphysical poem which earned him a reputation as the deepest and most stimulating thinker of early Greek philosophy. What does this quote mean to Hunter Biden? Maybe if you buy the work for $ 100,000? $ 200,000 or more? – he will explain.

Did the Hollywood show make money for this newcomer to the art scene? Mother Jones contacted Bergès to ask him if any pieces were being sold. So far, he hasn’t responded.