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Artist Bjarne Melgaard is suing his former backer

Sculptor says collector made too many editions

Clemens Bomsdorf
1 December 2007
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Copenhagen

Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard has mounted a legal action against his former patron, the businessman Øystein Nordang, claiming Mr Nordang has made more editions of his sculptures than was previously agreed.

Melgaard received around E100,000 ($146,000) from Mr Nordang in the late 1990s, which Melgaard says was in exchange for the right to produce seven copies of the sculpture Light Bulb Man, conceived in 2006. The artist now says that the businessman has made four sculptures more than he should have, according to his lawyer Jarl Fronth.

A bronze edition of one of these was on sale for around E200,000 ($296,000) at the “Oslo Fall” exhibition held at the Kaare Berntsen gallery (the work remained unsold as The Art Newspaper went to print).

For his part, Mr Nordang says that he had already helped the artist to produce a number of sculptures before he made the payment of E100,000, and that the money gave him the right to produce seven additional copies, according to his lawyer Claude Lenth. The artist denies that this was the basis of the agreement.

Mr Lenth told The Art Newspaper: “We are in dialogue now and hope to find a solution without going to court.”

Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as ‘Sculptor says collector made too many editions'

LawsuitsCollectorsSculptureNorwayPatronageBjarne Melgaard
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