Onepiece Painting, a Singapore gallery in Joo Chiat, says it had no idea some of its "original oil paintings" were in fact copies of work by California-based Italian artist Ester Roi.
The pieces were provided by Art Square, a Malaysia-based company that participated in the Affordable Art Fair here last November, The New Paper reports.
59-year-old Ms. Roi reported the copyright infringement on Facebook Monday (Jan. 12), asking her 50,000 followers and their artist friends to "shame Art Square through the power of social media".
Her post included screenshots from Art Square's website (top pic).
When TNP visited Onepiece that same day, they found a copy of Roi's "Metamorphosis" on display. It was named "Rainbow Flow". When contacted, gallery director Alice Tan said she didn't know the painting, obtained via Art Square apparently from Indonesia, wasn't an original.
Art Square has also denied knowing the pieces were rip-offs. "I feel terrible," director Goh Meow Leng told TNP. She has received an email from Ms. Roi and will be removing and disposing of the paintings, which also include a copy of the artist's "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow".
Ms. Goh says Art Square gets its paintings from the region in bulk. These come in the hundreds and "there's no way to check all of them".
Ms. Roi has said that she will not pursue the matter if Art Square stops selling the copies and makes a public apology. She's also expressed hope that "Art Square and other companies like it will check their inventory and suppliers more carefully".
Onepiece Painting, a Singapore gallery in Joo Chiat, says it had no idea some of its "original oil paintings" were in fact copies of work by California-based Italian artist Ester Roi.
The pieces were provided by Art Square, a Malaysia-based company that participated in the Affordable Art Fair here last November, The New Paper reports.
59-year-old Ms. Roi reported the copyright infringement on Facebook Monday (Jan. 12), asking her 50,000 followers and their artist friends to "shame Art Square through the power of social media".
Her post included screenshots from Art Square's website (top pic).
When TNP visited Onepiece that same day, they found a copy of Roi's "Metamorphosis" on display. It was named "Rainbow Flow". When contacted, gallery director Alice Tan said she didn't know the painting, obtained via Art Square apparently from Indonesia, wasn't an original.
Art Square has also denied knowing the pieces were rip-offs. "I feel terrible," director Goh Meow Leng told TNP. She has received an email from Ms. Roi and will be removing and disposing of the paintings, which also include a copy of the artist's "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow".
Ms. Goh says Art Square gets its paintings from the region in bulk. These come in the hundreds and "there's no way to check all of them".
Ms. Roi has said that she will not pursue the matter if Art Square stops selling the copies and makes a public apology. She's also expressed hope that "Art Square and other companies like it will check their inventory and suppliers more carefully".