Ekspertiza

In October 2018, Catherine De Zegher, then director of the MSK in Ghent, opened an exhibition featuring works from the private collection of Olga and Igor Toporovski. The collection includes previously unknown paintings by iconic Russian/Ukrainian avant-garde artists such as Malevich, Kandinsky, and El Lissitzky.

Shortly after the opening, doubts arose about the authenticity of the works. A group of art dealers and experts questioned their provenance and lack of official recognition, leading to a public controversy that quickly escalated into an international scandal. De Zegher and the Toporovskis are accused of fraud, the artworks are confiscated, and a judicial investigation is opened.

The works in question belong to the Russian/Ukrainian avant-garde, an art movement that emerged in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Initially revolutionary and visionary, it was censored under Stalin's regime and largely erased from official art history. Today, the controversies surrounding this art form have not disappeared, but have shifted to the international art trade, where the question of authenticity is often a battleground of power and interests.

Although the Toporovskys claim to have convincing evidence, their story is met with skepticism and legal headwinds. Their arguments are being undermined, and the accusations against them are mounting. Meanwhile, it appears that they are not the only ones who feel targeted. Other collectors and curators worldwide are coming forward with similar stories. Behind the scenes, a network of influential players allegedly wants to maintain control over which works are recognized as “authentic” and which are excluded.

The name that keeps cropping up is that of Russian/Latvian oligarch and art collector Petr Aven, owner of the largest private collection of Russian/Ukrainian avant-garde art. According to some, he aggressively protects the value of his collection by casting doubt on other collections. Through art experts and dealers who act as arbiters of authenticity, he seems to influence and even eliminate museums and private collectors.

Ekspertiza maps out these power dynamics and investigates how truth is constructed and manipulated in the art world. Through conversations with curators, art dealers, collectors, and insiders, the hidden structures that determine which art is “real” and which is labeled as fake are exposed.

As the investigation progresses, one thing becomes clear: truth cannot be captured. Everyone contradicts each other, arguments and evidence seem to depend on the perspective of the narrator. One expert considers a work to be unmistakably authentic, while another dismisses it as a forgery without a doubt. Is this a deliberate strategy to sow confusion? Or is the search for objective truth in the art world an illusion?