Fake Exhibitions Pitched in China as Those by Japanese Artists

October 26, 2018

Tokyo- Exhibitions of works passed off as those of renowned Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami have been held across China recently, and the two artists are considering legal action to seek criminal charges, it has been learned.

According to Kusama's lawyer, Yoshifumi Onodera, such fake exhibitions have been staged in at least six places, including Guangzhou, Shanghai and Changsha, since April this year.

The phony exhibitions include one faked as a joint exhibition by Kusama and Murakami, and another in which entrance fees the equivalent of 1,000 yen were charged.

After Onodera sent written warnings to the exhibitions put on in Shanghai and Changsha from mid-September, the Shanghai exhibition was closed at the beginning of this month, before the end of its advertised period. But the Changsha exhibition is still ongoing.

The Kusama side is working to identify the organizers of the fraudulent exhibitions, planning to take legal action.

Murakami's lawyer, Hiroshi Kamiyama, also suggested filing a criminal complaint. Jiji Press