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A New York court is now handling a fresh lawsuit against Gabriel Kilongo, the Miami Beach art dealer behind Jupiter gallery, after painter Yirui Jia accused him of withholding nearly $40,000 owed from the sale of her work.
Jia filed the suit in September in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. She alleges that Kilongo paid her only $2,000 of a $42,000 sum generated by the sales of five paintings shown during her 2025 solo exhibition at Jupiter’s Miami Beach location.
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A Pattern of Legal Disputes
This case is one of four lawsuits filed against Kilongo over the past two years. Earlier cases, first reported by Urgent Matter, involved allegations of nonpayment, withheld artworks, and damage to a sculpture. The lawsuit over the damaged artwork appears to have been settled. The remaining cases appear to still be pending.
Jia’s lawsuit includes a sales report from Jupiter confirming that all five paintings sold, at prices ranging from $2,000 to $32,000. Two went to Vancouver-based buyer Bing Zhang. The other three went to Bradley Chubb, the Buffalo Bills linebacker who transferred from the Miami Dolphins earlier this year.
According to the suit, Kilongo sent Jia written assurances that payment was coming. He told her he was “managing a very tight cash flow” and was “waiting for a few things to clear on the gallery’s end.” However, the suit alleges he never followed through, thereby breaching their consignment agreement.
“The complaint speaks for itself,” Jia’s lawyer told ARTnews. Kilongo did not respond directly to questions about Jia’s lawsuit. However, addressing the four cases collectively, he said, “These are distinct proceedings, involving different circumstances and procedural histories, and should not be presented as a single narrative of wrongdoing.”
Gallery Background and Ongoing Operations
Kilongo founded Jupiter in 2022. He previously worked as an associate at New York’s Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery. Jupiter has exhibited at several prominent art fairs, including Untitled, Expo Chicago, and Zona Maco. Most recently, the gallery appeared at the Independent New York art fair in May, even as the lawsuits continued.
Kilongo had previously praised his working relationship with Jia. In an interview for Artnet’s Gallery Network program, he said, “We have successfully placed works by artists—like Yirui, for instance—in prominent collections, including those of some museum trustees.”
Urgent Matter reported in May that Kilongo surrendered his New York gallery space to his landlord and agreed to pay $25,000. It remains unclear whether Jupiter continues to operate in Miami Beach. The gallery’s website lists its most recent show as a two-person exhibition that closed in February.
Earlier Lawsuits Against Jupiter
The first lawsuit came from artist Jade Thacker, who claimed she was owed $204,000 after Kilongo allegedly failed to pay for one sale and did not return unsold works from a 2024 show. Kilongo has not responded to that case.
In February 2026, a New York entity called Location Incorporated sued over $1.6 million in alleged damage to a sculpture shown at the Untitled Art, Miami Beach fair. That lawsuit was later dismissed and settled. Then in March 2026, artist Stephanie Pierce sued Kilongo for $100,000, alleging unpaid sales and withheld artworks from 2023. Kilongo denied those allegations, representing himself and stating that payment had been made and that most works had already been returned.
