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SCMP Reporter

Promising a taste of art to whet the appetite of all collectors,  The Gallery of Modern Art  is set to offer new experiences in the local arts scene when it opens today.
In addition to exhibiting artwork from around the world, the gallery is shining a light on a range of modern artists. A Theme Artist of the Month series will showcase the works of artists from around the world.
The first artist of the month is Briton John Myatt,  with an exhibition entitled 'One for the Monet' featuring 'genuine fakes' of works by Vincent van Gogh,  Raoul Dufy  and Henri Matisse.
One of a pair behind the biggest art fraud of the 20th century, Mr Myatt is famed for his extraordinary ability to paint in the style of many of history's greatest artists.
For six years the one-time con artist unerringly fooled the world's art experts with more than 200 successfully-forged artworks before the long arm of the law caught up with him in 1995.
Today, thanks to a life-history that incorporates work as a chart-topping songwriter as well as a six-month residence inside Brixton prison, his life is now the subject of a Hollywood film and his artistic talent the focus of a major television series.
That said, Hong Kong art enthusiasts can rest assured that the works featured in The Gallery of Modern Art exhibition are on the right side of the law, being legitimate fakes rather than frauds posing as originals.
Interest in Britain's biggest art fraudster is not restricted to Europe or the United States, but is also strong in Asia, according to Karus Cheng, the programme marketing officer of J Links Asia,  one of the supporters of the gallery.
'As the exclusive agent in Asia, we received a lot of inquiries about Myatt's work, [but] his work has never been shown in Asia before,' Ms Cheng said.
'We think that it would be a good opportunity to show how amazing Myatt's work is and to catch the wave before the official release of the Hollywood movie next year.'
Ms Cheng believes that Mr Wyatt's work is the perfect way to show would-be collectors that enjoying a piece of art should be just as easy as seeing a film.
This tenet is certainly something that the artist holds dear.
'You and I might like Monet, Renoir or Degas, but we all know that never in a lifetime are we able to afford to buy one,' Mr Myatt said. However, copies that are confidently created and presented open up beautiful artwork to the masses.
'These genuine fakes ... make it possible for people to buy something that looks and feels like a Monet,' he said. In addition, he noted that genuine, affordable fakes took a great deal of the fear out of buying a painting. 'You're not spending quite so much money that you're terrified of losing everything you've got,' he said.
Although Mr Myatt now strictly sticks to paintings that are openly fake, about 120 fraudulent pieces remain in galleries around the world. 'The idea that someone like me did this and that the police only recovered 80 [of my paintings] demystifies buying art for people,' he said.
One considered benefit of exhibiting such works is that first-time buyers feel much more comfortable about going into a gallery.
'They know it's a fake and the only decision they have to make is if it's a good fake or not,' Mr Myatt said. 'If it's a good fake of a painting you don't like, it doesn't matter ... [whereas] you can't say that about a real Monet, as you know it's worth GBP10million [HK$153.77million].'
It is his hope that the gallery will help strip away the fear of art and, in so doing, empower people to make their own decisions about paintings.
The one-time con artist unerringly fooled the world's art experts with more than 200 successfully-forged artworks before the long arm of the law caught up with him in 1995



Exhibition to focus on 'genuine fakes' from John Myatt