Colorful sculptures worth more than $1 million have mysteriously disappeared while being loaned to a luxury Manhattan hotel, a lawsuit has heard.
Famed metallic flora sculptor Fidan Bagirova – whose work is reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism – lent four “one-of-a-kind rooms” to the Nomo Soho Hotel on Crosby Street in 2017, according to Manhattan Supreme Court documents.
The inspiration for the loan came from Zina Sapir, then-wife of Nomo Soho co-owner Rotem Rosen, who asked the artist over dinner to help bring color to the space, Bagirova said in the legal file.
Sapirt and Rosen “agreed to save the sculptures and return them,” said Bagirova, a multimedia artist from Geneva, Switzerland, in her lawsuit against the hotel and owner/manager, The Sapir Organization.
Bagirova insists she does not know when the carvings disappeared and that hotel representatives say staff turnover has made it impossible to get answers.
The missing works are the 77-book “Bouquet of Miracles and Celebrations”; the 81-book “Bouquet of a Joyful Life”; the 46-pound “Bouquet of Graceful Beginnings” and the 3-foot-tall “Yellow and Blue Sunflower of Freedom.”
The sleek 26-story Nomo Soho – with spectacular city skyline views – has been a magnet for celebrities including Kendall Jenner, the Kardashians, Hailey Baldwin and Jonah Hill and made headlines in May when became the first hotel in the country to offer reservations via NFT.
The artist is seeking at least $1.2 million in damages, according to the lawsuit.
Bagirova’s attorney declined to comment. The Nomo Soho hotel and the Sapir organization did not return messages.
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