Decades of works by Kluisbergen artist plagiarised in China
Artist Christian Silvain is suing one of China’s most popular contemporary artists, who became both rich and famous copying his works
Copy-cat
The situation came to light a few years ago when a gallery owner told Silvain that a painting that was strikingly similar to one of his own was hanging in a museum in Bonn. It was the first in a series of discoveries that uncovered Ye’s long-time method of copying Silvain’s works one by one.
Ye was one of China’s most famous contemporary artists, selling his paintings for up to €600,000. His work was so popular that it decorated textiles like curtains and pillows. He was also prized internationally, with his works featured in the best auction houses in the world. Clients who own a Ye include Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch.
A child of four could see this. The style, the sensibility, the forms, the colours. Only my name is missing
Ye is worth more than €20 million. And all of his paintings were based on work by Silvain, who gets about €20,000 for each painting.
Silvain’s style is unique, inspired by both graffiti and art brut. “Silvain’s paintings are made up of squares that contain certain elements,” Jos Depypere, a gallery owner in West Flanders, told VRT. “The plagiariser took all of this and just re-ordered it.”
Images that return again and again in Silvain’s work – birds, airplanes and cages, for instance – also appear in Ye’s work, slightly altered. “A child of four could see this,” the artist himself told VRT. “It’s pure plagiarism. The style, the sensibility, the forms, the colours. Only my name is missing.”
Christian Silvain’s 1986 painting (left) became one by Ye Yongqing in 1994
In total, Ye plagiarised more than 100 of Silvain’s works. Silvain decided to sue and donate any damages received to young artists in China. “Our lawyer met with the judge this week and filed an application to seize Ye’s villa,” said Julie De Bleeckere, chair of the Silvain Foundation. “That villa is worth about €20 million and in order to be sure of our compensation in the future, we want that villa to be seized.”
Ye’s career is, in any case, in tatters. Art critics have severely criticised him in the press, saying that he has embarrassed the country. Silvain, on the other hand, has seen a surge of interest from the Chinese in his own work. “I have gotten an enormous amount of support from the Chinese people and the press,” said Silvain. “It must not feel very good to pay €1 million for a painting that turns out to have been plagiarised. The support I have received has been phenomenal.”
Photo top courtesy Galleri GKM
