Museum Admits to Forging Picassos for Controversial Women-Only Exhibit

The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania, Australia admitted that their controversial “Ladies Lounge” exhibit contained fake paintings by Pablo Picasso made by the gallery’s curator.

Kirsha Kaechele, the museum curator, previously claimed that she inherited the Picassos shown in the exhibit. In a recent statement posted in MONA’s site, however, she admits that she forged the paintings shown in the exhibition herself. 

“‘Maybe I should just make the paintings myself,’ I said. We laughed—how absurd. But then, as with many absurd ideas, I decided it was a good one. So I made the artworks, quite painstakingly, with my own hands and the (perfectly shellacked) hands of my manicurist’s niece, who is far more competent in pen and ink and thus assisted with the etching,” she wrote.”

Kaechele explained that she did have friends with actual Picassos, but that their color palette did not match the exhibit’s. She also did not want to spend the money necessary to procure the works herself.

Better Than The Real Thing?

Kaechele claimed at the time that she inherited the Picasso painting from her great-grandmother. Among those paintings is “Luncheon on the Grass, After Manet” from 1961. She said in the blog post that the actual Picasso painting she copied was hung in Paris just four months after the exhibit opened.

“I darted my gaze around the room. Are they fucking with me? I couldn’t be sure … but of the 50,000 Picasso works, this particular one?!,” she wrote. “They had to be ‘collaborating’ with me. I was awed and deeply flattered.”

She admitted that she was expecting headlines exposing her fake paintings as the exhibit built controversy, but that she also felt a sense of glee at her works being taken at face value by the press. Kaechele only admitted the forgery due to separate inquiries from the Picasso Administration and the Guardian Australia.

“I am relieved I have told you because now we can revel together in this madness. Assuming you still want to speak to me. (I hope you can forgive me.),” she wrote.

Reactions Worldwide

Paloma Ruiz-Picasso, the head of the Picasso Administration, said that they will not be pressing charges against Kaechele or MONA. In a statement to Australian Broadcasting Corporation, they said that they believe that MONA has learned their lesson from the debacle.

“While we can only regret this situation and the current overexposure, we believe that this matter is now closed,” they said in a statement. “We also specify that we in no way hold this against the Museum itself, nor the artist. The urgency of creation sometimes makes us forget that there are principles of law protecting the interests of authors, which apply to everyone.”

Others, however, have criticized the act, with some saying that it hurts the museum’s credibility. 

“The entire episode is childish, unprofessional, and reflects poorly on MONA,” art critic Christopher Heathcote said to the Guardian. “What is being passed off as an art activist statement is the standard excuse used for attention-seeking sensationalism.”

“Kirsha is obviously a very skilled provocateur…but I feel very uncomfortable about her admission that she’s faked these Picassos and put them on display in a museum,” fellow art critic Elizabeth Fortescue said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the public felt betrayed or hoodwinked in this case, they might feel that MONA has tried to make them feel silly.”

The “Ladies Lounge” exhibit was created as commentary on the history of gender discrimination. The exhibit deliberately excluded men as part of that commentary, which led to a lawsuit that found the exhibit violated Australia’s Anti-Discrimination Act. In response, Kaechele moved them to the ladies’ toilets to allow them to continue showing the paintings to women only.

Related reading: Two Men Sentenced to Jail After Selling Art Forgeries

How FotomotoPH Turned the Paseo Underpass in Makati into an Art Exhibit

Public spaces in Metro Manila are often defined by movement rather than pause. People in transit hurry through; the underpass is a shortcut, not a place to stop.  Underground, the installation by photography group FotomotoPH, reimagined the Paseo Underpass as a visual experience. FotomotoPH is a Philippine-based photography collective dedicated to promoting, exhibiting, and fostering […]

Ito Kish on Balancing Minimalism and Depth This Season

Born and raised in San Pablo City, Laguna, Ito Kish made a name for himself through residential and commercial design, as well as curatorial work. This new season, built on the idea of Filipino Culture Meets Global Curiosity, unfolds both as a composed showroom environment and a new collection shaped by stillness and balance. A […]

On Breakthroughs: Architect Pierre Briones on Establishing His Name in Architecture 

Breaking through in their respective careers is a daunting task for any young professional. For Architect Pierre Briones, architecture has always been an intentional pursuit. Having spent much of his childhood around construction sites, Briones’s environment shaped his interest in architecture, including his fascination with how structures and buildings are built. “Choosing architecture was never […]

Bobby Mañosa’s Iconic ‘Bobi Toys’ Become Sculptures in ‘Tanaw’ 

Not many people know this, but during the Martial Law era, National Artist for Architecture Bobby Mañosa was also a toy designer. He had an iconic line of toys, called “Bobi Toys,” that he sold in Makati during the 1970s and 1980s, which he discontinued as his own kids grew older. His toys have not […]

‘Dialogo’: Two Artists Collaborative and Find Middle Ground in New Exhibit

Cloud Grey Gallery put together two esteemed artists, Manuel Ocampo and Ronald Ventura, for Dialogo. As a gallery located at the Grand Hyatt Manila, Cloud Grey has a more forward-thinking approach to contemporary art movements at the time. “They’re provocations,” the gallery declared as they described their approach, “invitations to see the familiar transformed.” For […]

‘Ivarluski x Bitagcol’ Opens New Pop-Up at Power Plant Mall

Ivarluski x Bitagcol, a pop-up store at Power Plant Mall, showcases the new collaborative fashion line from the two Filipino designers, as they seek to expand their design horizons and update their aesthetic hallmarks for the present day.   The collaboration came about as the two designers, Ivarluski Aseron and Jo Ann Bitagcol, discussed their attraction […]