Draft:Alfredo Martinez

Alfredo Martinez (April 15, 1967 – August 20, 2023) was a New York artist known for his vibrant and provocative artwork, often incorporating street art and pop culture elements. He gained notoriety for his illegal activities, including forging works by Jean-Michel Basquiat for which he served prison time at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. His life and work were the subject of fascination and controversy in the art world.

Biography
Alfredo was born on April 15, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York, to Alfredo Martinez, Sr. of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and Sonia Martinez (né Norena) of Cali, Colombia, the oldest of 6 children. He was bi-lingual in English and Spanish and a voracious reader.

Leaving his family home as a teen in the late 80s, he gradually drifted into the hardcore punk scene of NYC's East Village, crashing in the squats of that era. In these early years, Alfredo had no intention to become an artist and dreamed of creating claymation films. During this period, he did part-time work as an assistant in the East Village gallery scene hanging art and changing lightbulbs at Patti Astor and Bill Stelling's Fun Gallery then later at 56 Bleecker Gallery.

From Gallery assistant, he transitioned to Artist Assistant, initially assisting David Art Wales and then the Grey Organisation, both of whom were then living and working in NYC and finally as assistant to Donald Baechler. Alfredo's career as an artist's assistant was cut short once it was discovered that he had been forging and selling Donald Baechler's work while he was employed there. . Though Alfredo suffered no continuing criminal prosecution for the forgeries and even managed to maintain a friendship with Donald after the incident, the story spread. Once known, there was little chance that any artist would place Alfredo in a position of responsibility and trust ever again.

Following his dismissal from Baechler's studio, Alfredo landed a job as an instructor and handler at Rick Washburn's Soho-based Weapons Specialist where he made good use of the knowledge and expertise he had amassed obsessing over all things firearm related. Working in tandem with Rick Washburn Alfredo created the shooting range for longtime friend Josh Harris's conceptual art piece Quiet: We Live in Public as seen in Ondi Timoner's award-winning documentary We Live In Public Alfredo's intense fascination with firearms became well-known in the art community, attracting the attention of filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, who employed Alfredo as gun consultant for his 1999 film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

Following 2000, Alfredo's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Prior to the turn of the century, Alfredo had always had someone in his orbit who tempered his most basic criminal instincts. Jonathan Goldstein first served this role, and later, after a falling out with Goldstein over the continuing likelihood of these enterprises going unpunished, the role was reprised by Chris Kelly. However, following Chris Kelly's unfortunate demise in 1999, Alfredo was cast adrift without a front man and/or an anchor to temper his worst instincts, with disastrous effect.

Basquiat Story - Jonathan Goldstein 1988

Kenny Schachter Shot at Gramercy Park Hotel - 1996

Chris Kelley, death - 1999

Forging Basquiat and Arrest 2001

Prison Time 2002-2004

ALFREDO MARTINEZ Register Number: 53814-054 Released On: 05/27/2004

China 2007-2010

We Live in Public 2009

Squatting 2016-2018

Art Career
His obsessive focus was such that Tom Jarmusch made a short documentary film about him titled "Alfredo"

Alfredo's artistic journey began at the intersection of art and crime. His first "artworks" were forged Keith Haring masks in 1989, which he quickly sold.

In 1990, in collaboration with long-time friend and co-conspirator Jonathan Goldstein, a series of works was created and signed as "The Knights of Idleness." Alfredo and Jonathan imagined themselves as dadaist punks inspired by the prankster group of the same name from Honoré de Balzac's La Rabouilleuse. They produced six pieces in total, which were sold and placed in major art collections. Once the series was completed, Goldstein and Martinez, with intention and forethought, ceased making any further pieces.

Alfredo's earliest publicly shown works were not the ubiquitous guns he was best known for but massive robot sculptures inspired by the giant armored robot suits from the Japanese Manga Gundam. The sculptures were exhibited at Collective:Unconscious, Exit Art, Pseudo.com and MoMA PS1 through the mid to late '90s, culminating with a installation at Donahue/Sosinski Art in Soho. The sculptures were larger than life and made of found objects lashed together with whatever was available.

Exhibitions
October 6, 2023 - December 6, 2024 “kennyslist” Morton Street Partners, NYC, NY

September 15 - September 30, 2023 “Everyone has a story about Hotel Hollywood” Hotel Hollywood, Sydney, Australia

March 24 - March 27 2022 "Free Anna Delvey" A2Z Delancey

July 5 - July 7, 2019 "Megumi Ogita Gallery at Art Osaka 2019", Osaka, Japan

May 12 - July 7, 2019 "Eaux D'Artifice" IFAC Athina, Athens, Greece

February 1 - March 6, 2019 “ New York Art, 1980s Underground” Contra Gallery, NYC, NY

January 25 - February 9, 2019 "Normal Activity" Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

April 9, 2018 BEAUTY FOR FREEDOM: "PROJECT GHANA EXHIBITION & ART AUCTION" The National Arts Club, NYC, NY

August 31 - September 7, 2017 "AN IMAGINARY JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT – ‘MID-CAREER’ – RETROSPECTIVE" 3Squared Gallery

October 18 - October 19, 2016 "Open Studio Alfredo Martinez" 149 West 24th Street Suite 3B, NYC, NY

August 2016 "Alfredo Martinez: New Small Works" Amy Li Projects, New York, NY

June 17 - August 23, 2015 “The Last Party - The Influence of New York’s Club Culture - Mid 70s – Early 90s” White Box

May 14 – June 21, 2014 "War Stories" William Holman Gallery

October 17 - October 31, 2013 "UNRAVELING REALITIES" 166 Mott, NYC, NY

September 26 - October 17, 2013 "Without Consent" 166 Mott, NYC, NY

December 15, 2011 "ALFREDO MARTINEZ: THE SITUATION IS CATASTROPHIC BUT NOT SERIOUS" Leonard Tourne Gallery

June 1 - July 30, 2011 “The Peripheterists” Apex Art, NYC, NY

February 24 - April 9, 2011 "ALFREDO MARTINEZ: New Work After China" Allthingsproject, NYC, NY

April 29 - May 2, 2010 "Foreign Artists in China" National Agricultural Museum of China, Art Beijing, Beijing, China

March 15 - April 12, 2008 "Gothic Intrusion" Proposition Gallery, NYC, NY

April 29 - March 12 2007 "Surge Debang" Space 798 Art District

Summer 2006 "Arsenal for Democracy-War Corporatism" Canal Chapter Gallery, NYC, NY

March 18 - April 16, 2005 "temperature/ artists from the flat file” the:artist:network

December 2 - December 5, 2004 "Proposition Gallery at Scope Art Fair" Miami, Florida

October 24 - November 29, 2003 "The United States of America vs. Alfredo Martinez" Proposition Gallery, NYC, NY

April 18 - June 6, 1999 "Generation Z" MoMa PS1, Long Island City, NY

January 16 - April 3 1999 "PARADISE 8" Exit Art, NYC, NY

January 7 - January 31, 1998 "CAMBIO" Sandra Gering Gallery NYC, NY/Mexico City, Mexico

June 2 - June 30, 1996 "THE DEATH OF THE DEATH OF PAINTING" 480 Broome Street, NYC, NY

December 2 1995 - January 27 1996 "IMAGINARY BEINGS" Exit Art, NYC, NY

May 6 - July 14, 1995 "WAY COOL" Exit Art NYC, NY

November 5 1994 - January 28 1995 "...IT'S HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME" Exit Art, NYC, NY

May 8 - June 12, 1994 “Agent Artist", P.S.1 Museum,  Long Island City, NY

1994 "The Bong Show" Alleged Gallery, New York, NY

1993 "Skater Angels" Pat Hearn Gallery, NYC, NY

Artnet List.

Curation
August 20, 2016 True Lies Ami Li Projects

June 16 - July 22, 2007 "Dream Palace", A-Space, no. 1 Artbase Hegezhuang Village, Cuigezhuang Town, Beijing

2006 The Greenhouse New York, NY

October 7 - October 29, 2005 Crime, the:artist:network New York, NY

2005 Splitscreen, Void, New York, NY

January 15 - February 15, 2005 Pretend Friendly, the:artist:network New York, NY

December 14, 2001 - January 10, 2002 Entropy, Welcome to the Playground of the Fearless 90 N. 11 St. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

August 4 - August 6, 2000 'Na'er Do Wells' DNA Studios New York, NY - Basquiat Chair provided by Ben Buchanan - Certificate of Authenticity used as a template for Basquiat Forgeries

1999 Ragnorak, Sharp Communications, New York NY Curated by Alfredo Martinez

1998 Misanthropes

1995 Soon to Be Picturesque Ruins, 450 Broadway Gallery, New York, NY

1995 Pseudo Museum, Jupiter Interactive Productions, New York, NY

1994 Impossible, 600 Broadway, New York, NY