[CPProt.net] Korea: Row continues over alleged forged art

[Museum Security Network / Cultural Property Protection Net (Ton Cremers)]

 Row continues over alleged forged art 
   
 The biggest mystery plaguing the Korean art world may soon be settled in
court. The bitter struggle continues between the family of Korean painter
Lee Joong-sup and a Korean appraisal group over claims that a recently sold
work is a forgery. 
In the latest episode of the controversy, Lee`s family has said that it will
file a lawsuit against the Korean Art Appraisal Association, which asserted
that "Fish and Child," a work sold privately by Seoul Auction house for 120
million won (around $118,000) in March, was copied from a 1977 art
publication. 

Meanwhile, the appraisal association has accused the family of being
involved in a large-scale case of fraud. 

The artist`s son Lee Tae-seong arrived in Seoul last week to refute the
claims made by the appraisal group. During a press conference on Sunday, he
said the family would seek to file a lawsuit against the group for libel. 

Lee was quoted as saying that the accusations were "an act of terror on art"
and that "they talk as if our family is part of a crime organization, trying
to find fault in everything we do, and saying simply unspeakable things
about us." 

Lee also demanded that the association reveal what criteria were used to
determine that "Fish and Child" was forged and to show its credentials as a
certified appraisal group. 

On the other hand, the Korean Art Appraisal Association said that the
artist`s family, which is based in Japan, was involved in an attempt to
infiltrate the domestic art market with counterfeit works. In an interview
with the local daily Chosun Ilbo, Kim Yong-soo, head of the "Preparation
Committee of the Lee Joong-sup 50th Anniversary Undisclosed Works
Exhibition," said he had bought 200 works by Park Soo-keun and 400 works by
Lee Joong-sup in the early 1970s. He said that he had kept them in his
private collection since that time and that he had been "planning to hold an
exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Lee Joong-sup`s death for a long
time." Kim, who is also honorary chairman at the Korean Ancient History
Research Association, said that he had met with the artist`s family to
receive assistance for the show, but did not give them any works. 

The appraisal association believes that a kind of "art laundering" took
place, saying that professionally forged works may be among Kim`s 600
pieces. The group claims that it was possible that Kim took a number of the
works to the family in Japan and had them pass the works off as paintings
that had long been in the family`s possession. 

The artist`s son commented that he had met with Kim Yong-soo, but had not
received any works from him. Lee Tae-seong said that the eight works
originally at the center of the dispute would be publicly displayed from
April 26-28 at Forum Space in Pyeongchang-dong and that in the future, the
family would hold exhibitions and publish catalogues using the works in its
possession. 

While a final judgment on whether the works are real or not has yet to be
made, many local dailies agree that the controversy will certainly not aid
collectors` confidence in the domestic art market. 

(imoon at heraldm.com) 


By Iris Moon 

 

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/