Former Stamford Art Gallery owner Fernando Luis Alvarez is speaking out against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma's recent offer to settle thousands of lawsuits brought over the company's role in the opioid crisis.
Alvarez and artist Domenic Esposito were responsible for dropping a giant heroin spoon sculpture on Purdue Pharma's campus last year. Esposito created the 800-pound steel sculpture in honor of his brother who had been struggling with heroin addiction. Alvarez was arrested in the incident, which garnered international attention.
Alvarez used that piece of protest art to help launch the Spoon Movement, a collection of artists and artwork dedicated to highlighting the human cost of the opioid epidemic. Alvarez said he was shocked when he read reports of the $10 billion to $12 billion being offered by Purdue Pharma to settle around 2,000 lawsuits.
“Because it's not enough,” said Alvarez. “When you divide the number of people that were killed by this drug, let's say 500,000 into 12 billion [dollars] that just amounts to $24,000 a person. I think a life is worth more than that.”
Alvarez warned that if the state attorneys general who have sued Purdue Pharma agree to settle under their proposed terms, it will be a political disaster for them.
“What's going to happen is a poor settlement is going to take place, and it's going to haunt them. People are going to rebel against any poor settlement. People want justice more than anything else,” he said.
To that end, Alvarez said attorneys general should add contingencies to the settlement that will have a lasting impact on the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma.
“Never allow them to fund any political group or individual, because politicians were also the architects of this opioid epidemic,” said Alvarez. “Never allow them to own a pharmaceutical company, private or public. Why? Because they are not good actors. And every institution that bears their name should be able to remove it. We are not to glorify the architects of this epidemic in any way, shape or form.”
The Sacklers have been major donors to key artistic institutions for years, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the Tate Gallery in London and the Louvre in Paris. Many institutions have either announced they will not take future gifts from the family, or have taken the Sackler name down from parts of their buildings.
Alvarez said the Purdue Pharma settlement may set the standard for punishing companies that create harmful products or the next epidemic in the future.
