By Esther Tan

A LEASE dispute between a Takashimaya Shopping Centre tenant and the management of the shopping complex boiled over into a standoff on Sunday.

The scene: Opera Gallery, an art gallery on the second floor which showcases and sells art pieces by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

Seven security guards engaged by Toshin Development, a Takashimaya subsidiary that manages the mall's speciality retail stores, stood with arms interlocked outside the gallery on Sunday morning in a bid to reclaim the shop.