~ALFREDO & CARLO . . & AMY / CHINATOWN

FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS – PART III

so, apparently CARLO McCORMICK brought an adventurous, and way sharp Italian collector of ‘street’ art (?) well, bleeding edge art is more like it – in this case . . to the opening of the small gallery, last Thursday – where Alfredo was showing his work.

and yep, this guy was smart. he bought all three Alfredo pieces .. for $1,250 each.

snapped them up, right then and there.

heard the afterparty dinner – was on Alfredo !!
that’s how I knew – it was TRUE.

never underestimate Alfredo, but esp .. for turning up in the newest street-level hotspot, esp if there is a pretty Asian girl at the helm .. and we hear this one . . is “no dummy”, either.
and. neither is Alfredo, bye the way.

our newest downtown ‘it’ gallerist is AMY LI – who just opened an exhibition space in a button shop at 166 MOTT ST in Chinatown, between Grand and Broome. it’s called . . 166 MOTT ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE, and it’s got a very lively facebook . . page

in fact, I’m going to visit her tomorrow, Fri – so I’ll fill you in – first hand !!


the first show at 166 MOTT, ‘WITHOUT CONSENT’ was curated by AMY LI, herself . . and features works by:
BRIAN ERMANSKI, PIERRO CAMPIONE, EMIL MEMON, ALFREDO MARTINEZ, IARA CELESTE DIAZ, MIDORI OKUYAMA, and JOSE De OLIO.
the show opened last Thurs Sept 26, 2013 and runs thru OCT 17, 2013 – so, yeah !!
you can still catch a ‘moment’ in art history – while it is truly nascent, and straight up from the street.


this photo is from the opening. it is posted on the gallery’s facebook page.

I’m a little reluctant to post it – as I don’t know all the people in the photo, and I don’t know who to give the photographer’s credit to ?
and that’s the curse of facebook, but jeez: another topic for another time.

but since I’m on the trail, and I’m gonna follow the bread crumbs right to the very last drop . . and find out !!
I’ll let you in on the trail, as it reveals itself.

and, HAHA, SURPRISE !! . . or, rather NOT !!
the trail leads right to . . who else ?
HESH !! aka HASH HALPER . . !!
downtown’s underground mover and groover, supremo.
Red Rover, red rover, let HASH, come over !!

so, since I’m bound to find out, just for starters:
from the left that’s BRIAN ERMANSKI, in his trademark attire, otherwise he’s looking a lot like Hesh bye the way. to the right, ALFREDO MARTINEZ beside him .. and that’s AMY LI, the show’s curator and the new ‘it’ gallerist . . in front of ALFREDO.


ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ‘RED & BLUE’ GUN.

it looks to be hand painted (?) as well as informed by that trusty standby: SHARPIE !! it also looks to be large, although no dimensions are given – you can tell that, in part by the many different pieces of paper that form the background.

yep the piece is on hand made paper, an Alfredo Martinez trademark. Alfredo quite often, laboriously puts together, glues together himself the paper he draws on – a trick he learned in prison. that was the only way he could get paper big enough, and key: durable enough – for him to draw on. it’s very papier mache strong.

also: it makes sure you know you have the real deal, and not a ‘fake’ Alfredo . . ha. takes one to know one – and let’s . . just leave it at that.
and also, Alfredo just really gets into . . the hand building process.

DIY gunmaker likes DIY paper. duh.
Alfredo should open an Etsy shop !! just jokin . . seriously, guys !!

makin’ the paper, it kinda slows him down .. from the multiple schemes and ambitions that flicker in constant play in his brain.
and, well as a hobbist pastime . . sure beats makin’ fakes.

and in another way . . you know: art is a multi-layered thing.

it’s also an homage to early American piecework quiltmaking. if you follow the breadcrumbs, back in time, the trail leads straight to an assistant he once had – who helped put together some of his earliest shows.
up from the street – that for sure.
and needing lots . . of cheap – and BIG, durable drawing surfaces.

Quiet, Guns and Quilts. some things just .. STICK.
Josh, Alfredo, Nancy.

ALL IMAGES via 166 MOTT ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE FACEBOOK