Korean galleries association to inquire about painting authenticity with LACMA

The Galleries Association of Korea said Friday it plans to send an official letter to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) concerning the authenticity of four Korean paintings currently on display, the association said Friday.

The paintings under suspicion of being forgeries include Park Soo-keun’s “Waikiki” and Lee Jung-seob’s “A Bull and a Child,” both works by two of South Korea’s most iconic and prominent painters, who were born in the 1910s.

The association convened an appraisal committee the previous day, during which they decided to request information from LACMA, regarding the authenticity and background of the exhibition.

Youn Bum-mo, a former director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), who has seen the paintings in question and is a member of the appraisal committee, and family members of the late artists participated in the discussions, according to the association.

LACMA is currently holding an exhibition, titled “Korean Treasures from the Chester and Cameron Chang Collection,” presenting 35 artworks donated by Dr. Chester Chang, also known as Chang Jung Ki in Korean, who was born in Seoul in 1939 and first moved to the United States as a child with his family in 1949.

The association represents approximately 170 major galleries in South Korea, which organize art fairs and operate an art appraisal committee.