VALENCIA.- A report by the Generalitat, made known yesterday, points out dozens of irregularities, incidents and weaknesses during a five year period (2009-2013) of Consuelo Ciscar’s 10 year leadership of Institut Valencià d’Art Modern. Her husband, Rafael Blasco, from the ruling Popular Party (PP), last year was sentenced to eight years in prison for appropriating government funds.

Sculptures that were paid but not received, artworks paid 15 times their market value; travel expenses without previous authorization by the presidency and with personnel whom don’t work formally in IVAM; contracts executed without bidding, and a lower average of museum visits than the ones Ciscar would represent verbally.

IVAM acquired 124 artworks between 2009 and 2013 for a price of €1.992.877. The auditors have analyzed five of these pieces and according to a study made by Madrid professor Jaime Brihuega, in all cases these artworks were paid over their market price. Over 15 times their worth in the case of the painting Della Bestia Triunphante, by Julio Quaresma, valued at €2.000, and for which the museum paid €32.400. The installation by Natividad Navalón Tiempo de arroz y sal cost €128.400 and Brihuega values it at €75.000. Or Removal Assigments by Javier Arce, aquired for €11.800, when its price should have been around €2.500.

Tomás Llorens, art historian, adds that the buying proposal was always done by Ciscar and her function was to determine if the purchase was reasonable. However, there is no methodology that guided the objectives of the collections. In fact, the only argument used for their purchase was: “It’s an extraordinary opportunity to enrich the museum’s collection”.

A donation by Gerardo Rueda is one of the most important cases of the investigation, from the 77 pieces received in exchange for the purchase of seven, 32 pieces have not been received. Among them one of the most important is La moneda, el tiempo y el laberinto. Homenaje a Borges II, an artwork which has not been found but was “received” by the museum.

Another case are the 63 photographs Ciscar purchased from mafia boss Gao Ping in 2008 for €442.28 (125% above market value).

Ciscar also spent €137.717 in travel and lodgings, a majority of these expenses not being sufficiently well justified.

Other unjustified spending charges by Ciscar include 3.4 million euros paid to “freelance professionals”, among which the audit concluded that during 4 years a monthly amount of €2.823 was paid to Norberto Martínez Ibañez as “literary collaboration and text revision” for IVAM and its magazine.

The audit also questions the fact that 211 artworks property of the museum, are on loan to other public and private entities, which makes them unavailable to the general public.