An Art Gallery Is Literally Handing Out Free Marijuana With Any Purchase of an Artwork by This Adorable Dog—and It’s Completely Legal

What do you get when you cross a gallery selling artworks by a
virtuoso dog with a marijuana dispensary? Why, the District
Derp gallery in Washington, DC, of course.

The gallery, which promises “exceptional art for elevated
minds,” has a clever business model. In Washington, personally
owning and gifting marijuana are legal, but selling it outside of a
licensed medical dispensary is not.

So the owners of the gallery have taken advantage of a little
loophole: they sell artworks and offer weed as a free
gimme with the purchase of every picture.

“Any cannabis provided to a customer is provided solely as a
token of our appreciation,” according to the gallery’s
online FAQ.

And did we mention that the art is all created by the owners’
adorable dog, a four-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai named Sudo?

“Part of the reason why we were able to link cannabis and Sudo’s
art is that there is no set value on art,” company co-owner
Anais Hayes told Business Insider. “Art
can be worth anything to anyone.”

The shop is the brainchild of Hayes, a project manager at an
NGO, and Christopher Licata, a software engineer at a large bank.
And though the couple have no art market background, they have
still figured out a way to frame Sudo’s works, which are sold as
prints.

A composition featuring two paw prints—one green, one
pink—is compared to works by Andy Warhol and his famed Campbell’s
Soup cans: “This simple work asks the controversial question of
what art actually is, allowing the observer to make that decision
for themselves.” Another work, titled Mardi Gras, is said to be
“reminiscent of a Monet,” while Fast Times might appeal to
those who “love Pollock and primary colors.”

Hayes and Licata trained Sudo to paint after noticing how much
she loved to carry sticks. The couple built a custom t-shaped tool
using a wooden dowel with a paintbrush at the end that allows Sudo
to look at the canvas while she works. Each unique work takes
15 to 20 minutes—plus plenty of salami treats for the artist—to
make.

“The result is a modern canine spin on abstract expressionism,”
enthused the Washington City
Paper.

Of course, the main event here is the weed, and the prices
reflect that. A $55 painting comes with a 3.5-gram gift, while you
get one ounce of weed—the maximum amount you can hold by law—with a
$330 painting.

But don’t expect to rush out to District Derp too soon: whereas
licensed medical dispensaries are considered essential businesses,
art galleries such as District Derp are not, and will remain
closed through at least May 15.

The post An Art Gallery Is Literally Handing Out Free
Marijuana With Any Purchase of an Artwork by This Adorable Dog—and
It’s Completely Legal appeared first on artnet News.