In the Lifestyle Sunday interview by Elizabeth Lolarga, “Why Is Art Forgery on the Rise Again?” (Dec. 9), Ramon “Richie” Lerma of Salcedo Auctions and Ateneo Art Gallery attributed the rise in art forgery to new collectors entering the scene and being introduced by “unsuspecting friends to fly-by-night art dealers or substandard galleries without knowing any better.”
Ramon “Richie” Lerma is the director and chief curator of the Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) at the Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. He used to teach at the university’s fine arts program. Today he is an adviser of Salcedo Auctions at Three Salcedo Place, Salcedo Village, Makati City.
More than a month after they were pulled out of an exhibit because of doubts expressed by art experts about their genuiness, paintings allegedly by the late National Artist for the Visuals Arts H.R. Ocampo have not been submitted to the National Museum for forensics test.
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