The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness

The Mysteries of Mark Lombardi: Connecting Art with Corruption

Mark Lombardi, a conceptual artist on the cusp of international success, had everything to live for. So why was the 48-year-old found dead, and his death ruled a suicide?
In this special pre-season bonus episode, Farah Halime speaks with contemporary art curator and museum director Lawrence Rinder to shed light on Mark Lombardi’s art and legacy.
Lawrence was curator at the Whitney Museum in 2000 and acquired a Mark Lombardi piece about a bank called BCCI — a very large, very significant work of art that can be described as elusive and metaphysical. It is this work of art the FBI asked to see after 9/11.
The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness is the story of a conceptual artist's rise to fame whose brilliant genius had devastating consequences. Episode 1 will be released released on 11th November 2024, with new episodes out on Mondays.
Don’t want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus for early release episodes and ad-free listening.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

Mark Lombardi, a conceptual artist on the cusp of international success, had everything to live for. So why was the 48-year-old found dead, and his death ruled a suicide? Was it the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted his brilliance? He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." Or was he ultimately overwhelmed by the subject of his work: the financial networks connecting some of the most powerful and corrupt people on earth? His intricate drawings traced hot money, from Cold War funding to the heroin trade. But his most dogged scrutiny fell on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, a global money laundry bankrolling fraudsters, smugglers, and CIA operations abroad. Since his death, Lombardi's masterwork on the rogue bank has been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Could it be responsible for his demise? The answer can only be found within Lombardi himself.
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/