Two days after U.S. Marshals seized four paintings from Galerie Gmurzynskas booth at Art Basel Miami Beach booth to settle an outstanding default judgment stemming from a lawsuit filed by dealer Asher B. Edelman and his insurance company, the gallery released a statement late today saying that it “has resolved the insurance dispute.”
Edelman has alleged that Galerie Gmurzynska damaged Robert Rymans Courier I (1985), which he provided to the gallery on consignment for Art Basel Miami Beach 2007, and refused to compensate him for the damages. When Gmurzynska failed to answer the lawsuit, a judgment totaling $765,000 was levied against the gallery.
The statement released by lawyers for Gmurzynska, who physically returned the seized works to the stand today after a two-day absence, noted that “all four works that were held by Edelman Arts have been returned to the gallery and will be on display at the gallery’s exhibition space at Art Basel Miami.”
In addition to the terse statement, Gmurzynska co-owner Mathias Rastorfer said, “We categorically deny that the gallery has any fault or liability in this dispute between two insurance companies.”
New York attorneys Peter Stern and Art+Auction contributor Thomas Danziger (both of whom were included on Art+Auction's 2009 Power List) handled the delicate negotiations for Gmurzynska.
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