
adolfo gustavo martinez
a r t i s t | m u r a l i s t | d e s i g n e r
BIO . . . . .

“Infusing the familiar with inferences to culture, history and place, Adolfo Martinez creates stunning works. Martinez was born and raised in Kansas City, yet his Mexican heritage and multicultural perspective arise in narrative paintings that reveal his depth, drive and continuing journey as an artist.
Martinez began his sofa paintings series in 1999, in reaction
to seeing a starving artist “sofa sized paintings” sale
advertised on television. He reinvented his
inocuous painting genre through whimsical,
thoughtful works imbued with cultural
signifiers and motifs. His inspirations
include Native American imagery (which
he studied extensively at Pan American
University in Texas), Mexican murals,
symbolism and surrealism. Frequent
showings at Mattie Rhodes Center,
The Late Show, other local venues,
and his first public billboard project,
"¡Bienvenidos al Westside!" (2007),
have broadened public recognition
of his work.


Take the sarape off si viene jente 2008
Within his sofa paintings series, Martinez consistently depicts a centralized
sofa infused with varying iconography, a sarape (Mexican blanket), and
a small image above the sofa.”
Excerpt From Heather Lustfeldt
independent curator
Kansas City, Mo.
audio / videO . . . . .
CLICK ON PLAYER AT RIGHT TO LISTEN TO INTERVIEW

"EL SACRICIFIO"
kansas city painter talks mexican heritage
and border stories behind 'el sacrificio'
BY ANDREA TUDHOPE
CLICK ON PLAYER BELOW TO LISTEN TO INTERVIEW
"turn me loose"
There was a time in my younger years when I met some great people that became lifelong friends. Among them was a guy I knew from Texas. We hit it right off, being that we both had that kind of creative blood running in our ethnic veins. I was aristic with my paints and he was with his music notes. We always kept in touch and became the best of friends. His name? Steve Jordan. If his name rings a bell, it's because it should. His full name is ESTEBAN STEVE JORDAN, born in Elsa, Texas, in 1939. He later became a Tex-Mex sensation rightfully nicknamed "El Parche" for the patch he wore over his right eye and later earned a reputation as The Jimi Hendrix of the accordion. Through the 60's and 70's his unique sound and style was evolving. Steve made it a point to keep pace with technological musical developments as he incorporated these unusual sounds into his music using unheard of new advanced instruments. Ultimately in 1986, Steve was nominated for a Grammy for his album with RCA entitled "TURN ME LOOSE". Even in his high times, he never forgot his longtime friends. I'd like you to listen to a song he wrote, "Canto Al Pueblo", mentioning the best of his buddies. At 1 minute and 25 seconds into the song, you will hear him say..."y del valle viene TAVO...." that's me!! Translation: "& from the valley comes TAVO...." It's what he used to call me, TAVO, short for GusTAVO. Take a listen below and let me know what you think.
Sadly, Steve passed away in August 2010, from
complications of liver cancer. I miss My Friend.
Genres: Latino, Music, Regional Mexicano, Rock, Tex-Mex
Released: Jun 01, 1995
℗ 2006 Hacienda Records
more liNKS . . . . .
CLICK TO READ OR LISTEN
ARTICLE: RAILS TO OPPORTUNITY:
A STORY OF RESILIENCE IN KANSAS CITY'S LATINO HISTORY, 2014
ARTICLE: CHARLOTTE STREET FOUNDATION, 2012
INTERVIEW: STATION KCUR.ORG, 89.3 FM
WITH ADOLFO GUSTAVO MARTINEZ, 2007

A SHORT FILM BY DAVID WINGER
The Independent Filmmaker's Coalition
Kansas City, Missouri
ADOLFO GUSTAVO MARTINEZ
CLICK TO WATCH & LISTEN