We would like to call your attention to a recent discovery by our company, specifically, that a certain artwork by Takashi Murakami, from his “Polyrhythm ” series, bears a forged signature, and we also want to caution those who might consider purchasing the work. Furthermore, in addition to the fake signature, we cannot confirm whether the sculpture itself is genuine, so we ask that you are careful in this respect as well.

Our company discovered that the work Polyrhythm contained a fake signature at a preview held on April 26th, 2008, for Augur Auction's CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION, where the piece was to be shown as one of Takashi Murakami's works. (Augur Auction Co., Ltd. Headquarters: 6F 8-12-9 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo President: Tsutomu Ueda http://www.augur.jp).

Immediately after this discovery, our company sent a notification of this fact to Augur Auction, and simultaneously issued a demand that the work be immediately pulled from the auction. As a result, the auction of the work was cancelled. According to Augur Auction, they have purchased the artwork from the person who consigned the work for auction, and currently retain the work in their possession.

At this point, our company has requested that Augur Auction either surrender the work to us, or have it destroyed. The reason for this is that the circulation of counterfeit works and/or works with counterfeit signatures, significantly damages the interests of art lovers, and, by extension, damages their trust in the work of the artist.

Regrettably however, the work has yet to be sent to us or destroyed, even now. According to Augur Auction, they are considering removing the counterfeit signature, and then selling the artwork to the person who originally consigned it for auction. If this happens, there is a fear that the work with the counterfeit signature will be entered into an auction again. Alternatively, even if the counterfeit signature is removed, we fear that a work that has been touched by the hand of someone other than the original artist will enter into the art market. In either scenario, art lovers with good intentions would suffer an unimaginable loss as a result.

Our company has serious concerns about this situation, and wanted to inform all of you of these circumstances. We ask that you please take extreme care over any matter concerning the work Polyrhythm .