Kunle Martins

Known as Earsnot, Martins is the founding member of the IRAK crew,[2] a group of graffiti artists that also included Dash Snow.[3] The group was inspired by the overwhelming amount of visual culture found in the city, from art history and contemporary art to street life and graffiti by other artists. Before segueing into fine art, Martins (as Earsnot) created installations for Dover Street Market and collaborated on apparel designs with Adidas and Supreme.[4]

Martins's dedication to portraiture is the foundation of his practice.[1] Having left his biological home at sixteen, his continued chronicle of the faces of friends and family has served as a way to define his inner circle and strengthen his bonds with the subjects, some of whom have passed away.[5] The source material is often the subject's driver's license or passport photo, resulting in a series of faces that stare at the audience and each other with a frank blankness. The artist's graphite drawings are rendered on found white cardboard, or sometimes two or more pieces fashioned together.

Martins presented What’s Up Fam? at 56 HENRY in early 2020,[1] 1 and Portraits: Looking Like a Snack at Shoot the Lobster in New York in early 2019.[6]

In spring 2019 Martins collaborated with contemporary artist and romantic partner Jack Pierson on the exhibition Pee Party at Jeffrey Stark in New York.[7] Martins's work has appeared in other group shows at galleries and cultural institutions throughout the United States and Europe, including The Hole, New York; Beyond the Streets, New York; White Columns Benefit Auction, New York; Amelchenko, New York; Bonnie Poon, Paris; Coney Art Walls, New York; Wynwood Walls, Miami; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and Clayton Patterson Gallery, New York.