We saw a whole lot of fakes crop up in the art world this past summer. While a museum in China was forced to shut down back in July, an unconventional exhibition highlighting some of the most infamous cases of art forgery just opened at the Michele & Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts last Tuesday.
From now until April 27, the museum in Springfield, Mass. will be showcasing "Intent to Deceive: Fakes and Forgeries in the Art World," which gives platform to notorious scam artists like Elmyr de Hory and counterfeiter Mark Landis. In this exhibition, you'll find over 60 pieces of fake art, including phony Picassos and Matisses placed alongside the authentic pieces.
“Once upon a time, forgeries were the dirty little secrets of the art world,” the exhibition's curator Colette Loll told the Boston Globe. “But they are important cultural artifacts. Forgeries have existed throughout the existence of art. It’s one of the oldest professions in the world. As long as there’s a thriving art market, there’s a thriving forgery market.”
While it may be the first time you ever pay for an exhibition of fake art, "Intent to Deceive" makes for a fascinating look into the techniques and craftsmanship used in creating counterfeit art—just don't try it after you get home, or you may end up like Glafira Rosales.
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[via TheBostonGlobe]
