Art Series Hotel Group has brought together the world’s greatest living art forger, Tony Tetro, with one of the world’s most forged artists – Andy Warhol – to ask which Warhol is Warhol’s?
Convicted forgery artist, Tetro, has been commissioned by the chain to produce nine replica Warhols that will hang in the hotels alongside a genuine one until August 3.
Over winter guests staying at an Art Series Hotel (The Cullen, The Blackman or The Olsen) will be asked to pick the ‘real’ from the fake from a line-up. One fake will be revealed each week and given away as a prize, with an original Warhol given to one of the guests who picks Warhol’s Warhol.
According to Alan Bryce (author of Art Smart), up to 15% of all art sold is fake or forged. In reflecting on this statistic, CEO of the Art Series Hotel Group, Will Deague said
“Art Forgery is a serious issue facing the international art industry,” Deague said. “At Art Series, we aim to not only make art more accessible for our guests but also help provide an education on art. This process would not be complete without highlighting the prevalence of this fraudulent behaviour.
“Tony Tetro is a prime example of how commonplace it seems to be to replicate the classics. Tetro and other forgery artists have made a business out of reproducing our art masters including Warhol, Picasso, Monet and even our own namesake artist, Charles Blackman.
“In running Which Warhol, we’re looking to profile this serious issue and stimulate discussion and debate around the production of replica art. What does it mean for the industry, how can you pick a fake from a real, what value do we actually place on art?”
‘Which Warhol’s Warhol’s?’ follows the high profile Steal Banksy promotion that was held in December that challenged people to try to steal an original Banksy artwork from the hotel.