Likeness Without Reference

MAP is delighted to loan artworks to the Piramal Museum of Art for its exhibition Likeness Without Reference: Cultures of Forgery, curated by Vaishnavi Ramanathan: a fascinating and educative exhibit for viewers and collectors to understand the methods used by forgers and the underlying difficulty in authentication despite various mechanisms such as provenance, documentation and scientific analysis that have evolved to counter this phenomenon.

The exhibition uses specific case studies to study the different strategies of counterfeiting that are adopted for artists from the subcontinent while also shedding light on complications involving works from living art traditions. Additionally, the show explores the notion of ‘original’ as it operates within the realm of prints and sculptures and its associated disparity in monetary value, through unpacking the various terms analogous to these often editioned art forms. Seeking to engage the audience through debate and argument, this exhibition does not set out prove/disprove the authenticity of any work of art; instead, it critically examines the validity of each method currently used to establish authenticity and the shades of grey in between.

About the Piramal Museum of Art

The Piramal Museum of Art is a state-of-the-art museum located in the heart of Mumbai dedicated to presenting art in a way that is engaging, informative and educative to a wide ranging audience. The museum is a space for curated shows from the Piramal Art Foundation’s extensive collection of art featuring pre-modern, modern and contemporary Indian art.

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