Historian and art critic Pavel Shushara accuses that three exhibitions of the National Art Museum of Romania (MNAR) exhibited “falsifications bordering on the ridiculous”. The head of the museum, Kelin Stegerian, responded by saying that the works in the three exhibitions came from the museum’s collections, as well as from individuals in Romania and France, who were certified by “recognized experts whose presence in bibliographic sources was not disputed in a work of a scientific nature.”

Pawel Shusara accused Facebook of “changing a major cultural act” by the National Art Museum of Romania, which would have led to “a significant number of fakes bordering on the ridiculous” of Romulus Ladea, Zoe Vida Porumb and Victor. Brauner Exhibitions.

“It’s impossible not to notice”

• “Three exhibitions at MNAR not to be missed are Romulus Ladea, Zoe Vida Porumb and Victor Brauner.
• Unfortunately, here, too, I don’t even know if it’s just unforgivable incompetence, or, no less seriously, a deliberate maneuver to launder some works and ricochet to manipulate the art market, that is, simply complicity in a significant amount of work, which is more than the number of fingers on one hand, are fakes bordering on the ridiculous.
• Such a change of a major cultural act, made by a leading public institution such as MNAR, cannot go unnoticed by the Ministry of Culture, nor by the institutions that are supposed to investigate such types of crimes,” Pavlo Shushara wrote on Facebook.

Reaction of the National Art Museum

The National Art Museum of Romania gave its point of view when asked by News.ro, saying that “so far it has not become aware of the existence of forgeries in the exhibitions organized by it”:

• “The exhibition of Romulus Ladea was organized with works from the collection of the National Art Museum of Romania and other museums of the country, as well as from the family collection.
• Zoya Vida Porumb’s exhibition was organized from works provided by the artist.
• Victor Brauner’s exhibition was organized with works from the collection of the National Art Museum of Romania, the Pompidou Center, the Museum of Modern Art Saint-Etienne, the Museum of Modern Art in Strasbourg, and from private collections in Romania and France.
• For them, authentications of recognized experts and their presence in bibliographic sources, which were not disputed in scientific works, were taken into account.
• Therefore, the National Art Museum of Romania has not yet learned about the presence of forgeries at the exhibitions organized by it.”