The youngest of nine children, Gutiérrez was born into a family supported by his father’s work as a dishwasher and in the railroad yards of Los Angeles. After attending Roosevelt High School in East LA, Gutiérrez entered the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served in the Philippines and Vietnam. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1966, he used the G.I. Bill to attend East Los Angeles Community College. Gutiérrez has created screenprints with Self Help Graphics & Art in LA since the 1980s. While Gutiérrez cites influences as varied as 1920s German Expressionism and political murals of Mexico’s José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, his art is firmly rooted in the barrio in East LA. Gutiérrez currently lives and works in East Los Angeles.