Fakes not limited to Italy: Artists on art forgery in India
Once, when SH Raza walked into an exhibition of his works at an art gallery in the Capital, he said all of the artworks were fakes
ALKA RAGHUVANSHI, ARTIST AND ART CURATOR
It’s difficult to stop fakes from entering the market because the return you get from them is unbelievable. One just has to choose painters who are no more SANJAY BHATTACHARYYA,
ARTIST
Are you sure that the rare masterpiece you are investing your money in, is original? Recently, when 20 of the 21 paintings attributed to the iconic painter Amedeo Modigliani, displayed at the Ducal Palace in Genoa, Italy, were revealed to be fakes, it sent art aficionados into a shock, and had ticket holders asking for a refund.
Artist and art curator Alka Raghuvanshi blasts the Modigliani art exhibit. “As a curator, I’m surprised. It’s strange that the curator didn’t do their homework, and this happened abroad,” she voices her bafflement, and explains, “The artist has only 300 works. There should be some familiarity with them. It makes no sense. The curator is bound to be questioned about it.”
Raghuvanshi recounts her own experiences with fakes in India. “A curator who was working with a renowned Indian artist who’s no more, introduced many works into the market which to me were of questionable provenance. That artist never had so many works, sitting a studio ever,” she says. “Once, when SH Raza walked into an exhibition of his works at an art gallery in the Capital, he said all the artworks were fakes. It was ridiculous to see the artist come all the way from Paris to open a show, and say this,” she says.
Artist Samar Singh Jodha opines, “Today, imitation itself has become an art form. There are fakes, there are copies, there are original copies of originals, art criminals living off art and artists living off criminals.” Jodha also explains how art forgery functions, saying, “Agents hire unemployed artists and commission them to create outstanding fakes, and make millions.”
Artists say that despite spotting fakes of their own works at shows, they are forced to keep quiet, owing to threats and pressure from lobbies. “It’s difficult to stop fakes because the kind of return you can get from it is unbelievable. Show me any other business where you invest ₹30,000 and make lakhs. One just has to choose painters who are no more, so that it is hard to spot the fake,” explains artist Sanjay Bhattacharyya, recalling a personal experience from 2006. “I stopped a fake of Bikash Bhattacharjee at an auction at a Delhi hotel. The last bid, before I intervened, had been for ₹33 lakhs! The painting wasn’t even a copy of Bikash’s painting, but just a work by some young artist, which was printed even on the catalogue,” he adds.