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| "Beautiful Woman" by Chun Kyung-ja / Korea Times file |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
A few weighty forgery scandals swept the Korean art world in 2016. Renowned artists such as Lee U-fan and Chun Kyung-ja became household names in Korea, but they were caught up in controversy.
Lee U-fan denies forgery allegations
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| Artist Lee U-fan speaks to reporters at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on June 27. He was there to examine the paintings that the National Forensic Service confirmed to be counterfeits of his work. / Yonhap |
Lee U-fan, one of the most expensive living artists in Korea, was at the center of the counterfeit scandals. Known for his conceptual pieces, the "From Point" and "From Line" painting series are highly sought after at auctions both domestic and abroad.
Rumors of forged Lee paintings started around 2012, but Lee consistently denied the possibility of his work being counterfeited, citing that the paintings are highly abstract. In October 2015, police raided a gallery in Insa-dong on suspicion it was selling a forged Lee painting and arrested a handful of forgers and distributors of Lee's art.
However, when the artist was summoned to authenticate his works, Lee claimed none of them were forged. His opinion contradicted the scientific results of the National Forensic Service and other appraisers, aggravating the confusion.
The forgers were indicted regardless of Lee's claim of the authenticity of the pieces.
Prosecution puts end to 'Beautiful Woman' controversy
A 25-year-old forgery scandal revolving around the late Chun Kyung-ja's "Beautiful Woman" was finally concluded as the prosecution declared the painting genuine after a thorough investigation.
The painting, portraying a woman with flowers on her head, is in the collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA). When it was produced as an art poster in 1991, the artist claimed it was a fake, saying "Parents can recognize one's child. That is not my painting."
When Chun passed away in 2015, the forgery issue resurfaced and Chun's family filed a suit against the nation's flagship museum for assessing the artwork as authentic despite the artist's denials.
The prosecution announced earlier this month that the painting is genuine based on scientific appraisals and expert opinions. The prosecution also confirmed that the artwork was once owned by Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) who assassinated President Park Chung-hee in 1979.
However, the family protested the decision, citing the results of a scientific inspection by French company Lumiere Technology.
Kim Whan-ki sets record
Despite the forgery scandals, the Korean art market showed a substantial amount of growth, led by Kim Whan-ki (1913-1974).
A yellow-dotted painting of Kim titled "12-V-70 #172" was sold for 6.32 billion won at Seoul Auction's 20th Hong Kong sale in November, setting a new record for the auction price of a Korean artwork.
Kim, a pioneer of Korean abstract art who inspired the Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) movement, dominates the top five in the ranking of the most expensive Korean artworks ever sold, with his pieces breaking the record four times in the past two years.
Kim's work is praised for creating unique values based on Korean sentiment yet absorbing Western minimalistic art style.
Kim Yoon-sub, director of the Korean Arts Management Institute, said Kim Whan-ki is likely to surpass the 10 billion won mark in a domestic or international auction soon as his works are at the zenith of Korean modern art and the color field abstract style is easily understood by Koreans as well as non-Koreans.
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