Lawsuit Over ‘Irreversible’ Damage to Donald Judd Sculpture Is Tossed Out by Court

A lawsuit by an artist’s foundation against two galleries alleging “irreversible” damage to a Donald Judd sculpture was tossed out by New York’s Supreme Court in March.

The Judd Foundation had sued Kukje Gallery and Tina Kim Gallery in 2022, claiming that the two galleries had been responsible for fingerprints left on an untitled 1991 sculpture worth $850,000.

The Judd sculpture, the foundation said, had been consigned to the galleries in 2015 and was sent back in 2018 to Marfa, the Texas city where the foundation maintains several Judd-related properties, once the agreement was ended. At that time, a conservator discovered “permanent, disfiguring, irreversible marks” on the work, according to the suit. The foundation claimed that neither gallery had mentioned the damage to the sculpture.

A 2017 condition report prepared by a third party for New York–based Tina Kim Gallery, which is affiliated with the Seoul- and Busan-based Kukje Gallery, had noted that the sculpture showed signs of “potential fingerprints” and contained “blemishes.”

On March 15, New York Judge Nancy M. Bannon said the lawsuit was “untimely,” owing to the fact that the damage was allegedly discovered in 2018, about four years before the case was filed in New York. She criticized the ensuing settlement period over the insurance payout as being vague.

The Judd Foundation has appealed the lawsuit, claiming that under the Texas statute of limitations, it was, in fact, a timely legal action.

Spokespersons for Tina Kim Gallery and the Minimalist sculptor’s foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is technically the second time the Judd Foundation’s lawsuit has been dismissed. In 2022, a couple months before the lawsuit entered the New York court system, a Texas federal court also declined to hear the case, saying that it was outside the state’s jurisdiction.

New York’s Supreme Court tossed out the case just two weeks before the Judd Foundation filed suit against Kim Kardashian, alleging that she and Clements Design falsely claimed certain pieces of furniture were by the Minimalist sculptor when they were not. Clements Design denied selling imitation Judd tables.

Rainer Judd, the sculptor’s daughter, told the New York Times, “We are just doing our job to protect Donald Judd’s work. Not every artist foundation has the time or resources to do that.”