ALFREDO MARTINEZ
Alfredo Martinez was a rule breaker. He saw that criminality could be the perfect counterpart to fame and he possessed the powerful talent of storytelling. He thus utilized his time in prison to supercharge his art career. He served time for forging Basquiat, got shot in Guatemala, and was tortured in a secret prison in China. He seemed to live within the controversial art underworld.
His FJMB (Fake Jean-Michel Basquiat) collection is a tribute to both Alfredo’s past and Basquiat’s masterful work. Basquiat's use of heads and skulls are evocative of African masks. He developed a unique style, which combined expressive and at times violent brushstrokes with words, symbols, and a variety of materials, to confront social issues. Alfredo utilized his deep knowledge of Basquiat's techniques and materials to masterfully deliver his own renditions of these powerful works.