~ALFREDO MARTINEZ . . “THE REAL FAKE” / inside the mind of the notorious Basquait Forger
INSIDE . . the MIND of THE REAL FAKE . . BASQUIAT FORGER,
A FLOWER . . . GROWS.
ALFREDO MARTINEZ – “THE REAL FAKE”
AN IMAGINARY JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT – ‘MID-CAREER’ – RETROSPECTVE !!
BY THE REAL – BASQUAIT FORGER – ALL ARTWORK BY ALFREDO MARTINEZ
CURATED & PRODUCED BY: JESSE LAWLOR & PAUL-ANTHONY NAVARRO
the show runs thru SEPT 7 / with a CLOSING PARTY on THURS SEPT 7, 2017 / 7 PM – 10 PM
HRS: OPEN DAILY / 7 PM – 10 PM
3Squared Gallery, 157 W. 24th, NYC
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ‘Untitled’, 2017 – in “THE REAL FAKE” . . BASQUIAT !!
watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 in.
($3,000)
what’s . . DEATH ?
the deal is, it actually might be harder for someone to emulate Alfredo’s work, than for ALFREDO to emulate . . . BASQUIAT’S.
what’s to emulate ?
if not to . . RADIATE ?
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ‘Untitled’, 2017 – ‘THE REAL FAKE” BASQUIAT.
watercolor, pastel on paper. 22 x 30 in.
($3,000)
the REAL FAKE is . . ALFREDO / who can somehow channel BASQUIAT, to the point of . . there is no knowing the difference. and who got away with the forgery in real life – for a brief period of time.
and it’s not just ‘copying’ / it’s like the juice . . of the same fruit / the same fruit . . off the same tree.
ALFREDO pours on that ‘Radiant Child’ juice, 100% – no additives.
all 100% Real, FAKE . . . imagination. no re-creation here / d f straiught up foem the inside the guts, inside – out.
essence of ‘Radiant Child’ – all the way / because, when they call Basquiat the “Radiant Child” . . that’s what they are talking about: the spontaneity, the primitivism. the outsider ‘savant’. the rawness, the wild . . pureness of child-like mind thought, the free play of thinking, word association. music. history. black history. the state of the ‘art’. the state of the country. the state of the ‘artist. the radiance of color, the radiance of a drawn-out . . line. the radiance of a scribbled figure that . . yells. out to be heard as an original, radiant . . voice / painting.
well, he was also quite radiant in person, when he was young. he wqsn’t that radiant a sight to behold – after the ravages of success, drugs, HIV & the always feeding . . vampires. at some point, to choose to be with him, was to choose: death.
I guess death . . has its own kind of radiance.
a poetic, and worldy self-aware . . . art flower grew inside Basquiat, that’s for sure – & that’s the very, final definition of ‘radiance’, for sure.
Alfredo has swallowed the seed, and it grows inside him, now. too.
whether he likes it or not.
The Real fake Basquiat forger, ALFREDO MARTINEZ.
he says he is 50. don’t ever count him out, he always bounces back.
you cannot deny – the life force within.
it radiates from deep within & tumbles right back – at ya. ‘nother year / different scene.
new people.
JESSE LAWLOR and PAUL-ANTHONY NAVARRO – at the opening of ALFREDO MARTINEZ / “THE REAL FAKE”,
3Squared gGallery, mid-town NYC. Aug, 31, 2017.
they co-curated & co-produced the show, & it was appropriately . . & wonderfully gritty.
we have PAUL-ANTHONY NAVARRO – to thank for the show’s title.
he coined “THE REAL FAKE” / and he was . . right-on.
so, have you been noticing, the ghost in the room ?
the box & the flower pot.
and, I thought I was taking pix of the show . .
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ‘Untitled Box’, 2017.
in . . “THE REAL FAKE”, a one week pop-up curated by JESSE LAWLOR & PAUL-ANTHONY NAVARRO.
a Real fake, Basquiat-inspired . . ‘found’ wooden box. metal hinges and all, mixed media. ghostly co-habitation included. 12 x 12 x 10 in.
($2,000)
If I had $2 grand in my pocket right now – it would be mine, because: . . it’s radiant, and . . .
a flower grows on top.
and it’s drippin’ – with that Basquiat . . juice.
the Real fake / fako-you-out duo: Alfredo – Basquiat.
who knows, maybe they’ve . . morphed. Has Basquiat jumped the matrix ?
is there an algorithm . . for that ?
I know for sure, there’s . . folklore for that.
in this day of social platforms, DGI, AI / and even AI art ‘pieces’ / games created by digital artists – playing themselves without . . algorithm, that have very unexpected narrative stories / I mean .. really, really OUT Of THE BOX !!
the stationary image, made by an artist – that ‘speaks’ / with spontaneous combustion !!
. . is what we still take for proof – of the individual, human / lo-tech / primal power.
vision / speech.
“THIS LAND USED TO BE . . .”
& . . I put my artist – stamp / on what I make.
the heat – behind the crown.
the mind, behind the man. the artist / poet.
drippin’ with fighting words.
PAY HEED.
MIND – YOUR HIS-TORY.
& VOO-DOO.
or, you are DEAD.
or, are you already, dead ?
or, are you LIVING DEAD ?
this is real box. a box with metal hinges.
it is a . . construction.
just the way the show / “THE REAL FAKE” – is a conceit / a construct / a concept.
top of the box – rollin’ on its side.
it’s a stationary construct – it can’t be seen all at once.
and life, what’s life.
and death / what’s death ?
Mardi Gras – seems more like it.
one word: island people / BOB MARLEY rolled with ghosts, too.
so, does it make sense that Basquiat could . . jump the box ?
and, a flower – grows . . on top ?
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH