Yaniv Cohen, a Bucharest-based Israeli businessman, is threatening to sue the art publication e-flux and Ukrainian American art historian Konstantin Akinsha for defamation over an article questioning the authenticity of three paintings attributed to Kazimir Malevich. The works—'Suprematist Composition in Color' (ca. 1915), 'Cubo-Futurist Composition' (ca. 1912–13), and 'Linear Suprematism' (ca. 1916)—are currently on view at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) in Bucharest as part of the exhibition 'Kazimir Malevich: Outliving History.' Akinsha accused MNAC of lacking expertise and challenged the provenance of the previously unseen works, prompting Cohen to demand the article's removal and an apology via a letter from the Tel Aviv–based law firm Rosen-Ben Gal.
This dispute matters because it highlights the persistent and well-known problem of forgeries in the Russian avant-garde market, where top works by Malevich can fetch tens of millions of dollars. The market is notoriously fraught with fakes, as many works from this period lack complete provenance due to their suppression under Stalin and subsequent resurfacing in the 1960s and '70s. The case also raises questions about the due diligence of museums and the role of scholars in challenging authenticity, with potential legal and reputational consequences for all parties involved.