Collector Justin Sun Sues David Geffen Over "Stolen" Giacometti Sculpture
The duct-taped banana buyer claims that the $78m work was wrongfully acquired by Geffen.
Crypto mogul Justin Sun, who made headlines for purchasing – and eating – Maurizio Cattalan’s banana artwork last year, is suing billionaire collector and entertainment executive David Geffen over a $78.4 million Alberto Giacometti sculpture that he claims was stolen.
Sun purchased Le Nez at Sotheby’s in 2021, and now claims that his art advisor, Xiong Zihan Sydney, went rogue and orchestrated the sale to Geffen through an elaborate string of fabricated documents and forged signatures.
While, Sun previously “expressed an interest” in finding a buyer who would pay more than $80 million. Sun claims that the advisor made a deal without his knowledge, exchanging the Giacometti for two artworks from Geffen’s collection, together worth $55 million, along with $10.5 million in cash. Court papers say that he never gave his advisor the authority to negotiate a deal – only to make inquiries.
Then, why sue Geffen? In his lawyer’s words, Sun is a “relatively new collector” and “not as familiar with the modern and contemporary art market” as Geffen. The collector alleged that Geffen’s team should have noticed red flags in the transaction, including the “involvement” of a fake lawyer.
Sun said that he has contacted Geffen’s lawyers, demanding the return of the statue or $80 million – his initial asking price – in damages.
Tibor Nagy, a lawyer for Geffen, released a statement to the New York Times in which he characterized Sun’s allegations as “seller’s remorse” and called the claims in the lawsuit “bizarre and baseless.”
