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BUYER BEWARE! SCAM!My brother and I wanted to purchase a few master embellished giclees by Leonid Afremov. After watching Afremov’s video, I called [protected] which was the number provided by www.afremov.com, and wanted to verify that Leonid Afremov was in fact the person painting on these master embellished giclees. I asked to speak with Leonid and it was his son David on the phone impersonating him! I was able to tell from the video on Leonid Afremov because Leonid speaks in the video. This immediately grabbed my attention and I continued to ask for Leonid. He put me on hold and his brother Boris Afremov picked up also impersonating Leonid Afremov. I insisted I speak to Leonid and was then transferred back to David who admitted they both had impersonated Leonid! This is fraudulent representation! This whole thing is extremely suspicious. I called several times and each time there was an excuse as to why I am not able to speak to the artist himself (on vacation, technical difficulties, too busy…etc.) So who is the person painting on the “master embellished” giclees? Where is Leonid Afremov? Why is he being impersonated? SCAM!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
amrock123 Mar 30, 2021
I recently ordered the "Branch Over Water" painting from the Afremov studios in a 20w x 36h based on the image of the piece that was advertised on their web page. Their first failure was sending the wrong size (requested dimensions reversed). After months of waiting they did send "A painting" with the right dimensions but it looked as if it was painted by a child and not even close to the painting advertised. They then claimed that it was the same painting that i approved (from the web page) which is a lie from top to bottom. The piece i got was absolute garbage, and they MUST have known that but sent it anyway. How his family could disgrace the good name of Leonid Afremov this way is difficult to comprehend but they did and continue to do so. There is no excuse for this kind of rip off and i advise anyone reading this to avoid these thieves at all cost. they need to be put out of business.
Tim
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My brother and I wanted to purchase a few master embellished giclees by Leonid Afremov. After watching Afremov’s video, I called [protected] which was the number provided by www.afremov.com, and wanted to verify that Leonid Afremov was in fact the person painting on these master embellished giclees. I asked to speak with Leonid and it was his son David on the phone impersonating him! I was able to tell from the video on Leonid Afremov because Leonid speaks in the video. This immediately grabbed my attention and I continued to ask for Leonid. He put me on hold and his brother Boris Afremov picked up also impersonating Leonid Afremov. I insisted I speak to Leonid and was then transferred back to David who admitted they both had impersonated Leonid! This is fraudulent representation! This whole thing is extremely suspicious. I called several times and each time there was an excuse as to why I am not able to speak to the artist himself (on vacation, technical difficulties, too busy…etc.) So who is the person painting on the “master embellished” giclees? Where is Leonid Afremov? Why is he being impersonated? SCAM!
Upon opening the painting I purchased from Mr. Afremov, I was very disappointed to find a significant difference between what I purchased and what I received. The artistry, appearance, even the use and quality of color of the painting Afremov shipped was clearly inferior to the image he posted on Etsy. In the small print on Afremov's Etsy website, he writes that he uses images of his giclees to discourage counterfeiters. Well, his giclees look WAY better than his originals.
I did a little research online where I found the reports of many dissatisfied Afremov one-time customers. It appears Afremov sloppily renders copies of originals depicted online. Further, he sells "the original" painting on several different websites. I found this to be true when I saw the "original" painting I purchased listed for sale on another website. Unfortunately, I believe Afremov is a scam artist in every sense of the word. Shame on you.
Deception is rampant
I own two originals and one giclee. I'm happy with the artwork, but I'm afraid my investment will be a solid loss. Deception is the name of the game at afremov.com. Trying to figure out what is an actual, original painting is impossible. Some of afremov's deceptive practices are walking a very fine legal line. One of these days he is going to get sued.
Also, the giclees are a copy of an original, and afremov.com leads you to believe that there are only 25 copies of one original painting. This is not true, they will issue 25 copies of one distinct size of the original painting, and then offer 25 more copies of a different size of the same original. This goes on and on. Now we have oil on canvas paintings, which have another 25 copies of the same original painting. If you read the above comments, this is the reason afremov.com needs warehouses.
Another thing, almost all his paintings look the same. It's repetitive painting. Leonid could turn a painting out in less than 5 minutes in his sleep. Daniel Wall would probably agree. Do you remember when Leonid was claiming to be the "founder of intense impressionism"? All of a sudden every website and wiki no longer had that description. I'm guessing there was a lawsuit, or a settlement with Mr. Daniel Wall. His and Leonid's paintings are almost identical, and I think I know who is impersonating who.
Unfortunately, Leonid Afremov is destroying his reputation. He, or one of his representatives will send out a pretty picture in a timely manner, but this is a multi-million dollar corporation, not just an artist. So this is a warning to anyone who is going to pay big bucks for one of his originals. If you like the look of the painting, then buy it. Just don't expect to get anything for it when you sell it.