Art market urgently needs to accelerate legislation

“When I first came to work with Wenlian, some people told me that the works of famous Chinese artists could be bought in the Panjiayuan flea market. Of course, that was all fakes.” Deputy Director of the National Committee of the Political, Cultural, Physical, Physical Education Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zhai Zhigang said. A few days ago, the Special Investigation Group of the “Art Creation and Art Market” of the CPPCC Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held discussions in Beijing and related parties. The legal environment of the art market is imperfect, and the resulting issues of counterfeiting and sales are repeatedly mentioned by various parties.

"If the prosperity of the art market wants to continue, we must have legal protection," said private collector Ma Weidu. He was often troubled by counterfeits in his collection work: “I’m quite confident in my ability to identify myself, but I’ve often dared to say that I’m inclined to think that an item is true or false and I’m afraid to confirm it. Forge works of art in some countries. Like falsifying currency, it is a crime. In our country, falsifying artworks is not a crime. This is an important reason for the rampant practice of counterfeits."

“Because of the rapid development of the art market, artists, galleries, and intermediary organizations have embraced the unprecedented prosperity of the Chinese art market because of their relationship with painters and galleries and the relationship between artists, galleries, and auction companies. The rules of the time market are not clear, domestic laws and regulations have not yet been introduced, the rules of the international games have not yet been learned, and everyone has become hurried to get started.As a result, the rights and responsibilities of painters and galleries are not clear, the market is not clear, and economic value is unclear. A series of problems such as the operation of import and export is not clear," said the person in charge of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture.

"After the transfer of the work, the artist still enjoys other rights stipulated in the copyright law in addition to the right to display, such as the rights of publication, reproduction, modification, protection of the integrity of works, etc. However, as the original is in the hands of others, how can these rights be guaranteed? The implementation of the Copyright Law does not provide for regulations.” Teachers of the Central Academy of Fine Arts often encounter similar problems in their actual work.

The members pointed out that with the increasing living standards of the people of our country, the demand for works of art is increasing, and the legal issues in the art market are also becoming more and more prominent. At present, Chinese artists and art dealers are also facing how to enter the international market and accept the impact from foreign art markets. A sound legal environment will be the key to the prosperity and development of the art market and a sign of its true maturity.

The members believe that the improvement of the domestic art market system and its integration with the international art market is an inevitable trend for the development of the Chinese art market. At present, China has already promulgated laws and regulations concerning the art market. However, there is still a large gap between this and the market demand. It should speed up the pace of legislation, strengthen policy guidance, regulate the market behavior in a wide and strict manner, and support the art market. Rapid development.