On the heels of a new Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit opening in Los Angeles — one that purports to get to the truth of who the late artist really was — news regarding Basquiat forgeries, shown in a different exhibition in 2022 and unrelated to the Basquiat estate, has come to light.
Los Angeles auctioneer Michael Barzman on Tuesday admitted lying to the FBI last year about Basquiat forgeries exhibited in 2022 at the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida and to helping create the fake artworks.
Barzman, 45, of North Hollywood, agreed to plead guilty to the felony on Tuesday. In court documents filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Barzman admitted creating 20 to 30 fake Basquiat artworks together with a man identified in the documents only as "J.F." and that the two agreed to sell the forgeries and split the profits.
