The estate of late Pop Conceptual artist John Baldessari (1931–2020) is staggering under the weight of dual multimillion-dollar lawsuits, one of which it filed, and one of which it is facing, Artnews reports. The estate last autumn filed suit against Marian Goodman Gallery, which represented Baldessari for the two decades preceding his death, claiming that the gallery had injured fifty-five of the artist’s works via careless handling, dropping and scratching the pieces, and through improper storage, leading to water damage. Representatives for Baldessari contend that when estate staff went to collect the works following the artist’s death, with the intention of transferring them to his current representative, Sprüth Magers, they discovered some of them stored in boxes marked “Damaged”; a number of the works are said to be a “total loss.” The suit, filed in the Supreme Court of New York, additionally condemns the gallery’s insurer, AXA XL. Marian Goodman has said that the injuries were caused by third parties over whom it had no control, and in regard to whom it had no responsibility. The gallery recently asked to be indemnified by AXA, meaning the insurer would have to pay all costs associated with the suit.
Additionally keeping Baldessari attorneys busy is a suit filed against the estate this past spring by Beyer Projects in the Southern District Court of New York. The New York–based production company alleges that the Baldessari trust is seeking to claim ownership of works that the company produced for the artist and over which it has a 50 percent claim to possession. Beyer Projects contends that in doing so, the estate cheesed a potential spring 2023 Gagosian exhibition of Baldessari works that it owned and co-owned, thus losing the company millions of dollars. Sprüth Magers is also targeted in the suit, with Beyer Projects claiming that the gallery refuses to return to it two Baldessari works that it co-owns. The Baldessari estate has asked to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the artist’s contract with the production company has not been breached.
