1981-1991 NEW FORGERIES ON THE MARKET

Partially as a consequence of the continued rise in the economic values of Manzoni’s work, the Eighties unfortunately saw a parallel growth in forgeries, a trend that had already been noted in the late Sixties.

While in the mid-Eighties Freddy Battino and Luca Palazzoli began assembling material for a new catalogue raisonné, a group was formed that gave itself the name “Associazione Amici di Piero Manzoni” in open conflict with Celant, the family, the published catalogues and those in preparation and all those who had conducted or were conducting scholarly research into the artist. In 1991, this association published its own book featuring an “Achrome” on the cover, an orange “Achrome”! Years later, this volume was disowned by the very president and promotor of the association. It contained 332 works: to date, 57 of these have been judged to be forgeries by the courts in a series of civil and criminal proceedings. Alongside these, a further 60 of the published works have been judged to be not authentic by the Piero Manzoni Foundation (for a total of 117 works). Together with the production and distribution of apochryphal works, these groups spread false information about the artist, some of which continues to circulate today.