Victor Gonzalez of GRØSS Magazine: How to Stretch Your Resources

Not Real Art

If you start an art publication from scratch with virtually no capital, prepare to get creative with your time and resources. Today’s guest, Victor Gonzalez, founded GRØSS Magazine fresh out of college with a gleam in his eye and few assets to his name. Fast forward seven years, and the once wobbly publication has blossomed into Grøss Creative Studio, a thriving media company also known as the GCS Agency.

“Coming into print publishing with very shallow pockets—it really made me resourceful,” says Victor, who also heads GRØSS as the editor in chief. “I had to lean into that quality. I think that quality has always been instilled in me because I'm the product of immigrant parents, who were just always resourceful, trying to find their own way, trying to do the most with what they had, and figure out ways to stretch their resources, whether it was money or any kind of resource.”

The GCS brand currently houses two initiatives. There’s GRØSS, a contemporary art platform focused on creating space for creative talent, cross-pollination, and ingenuity. Then there’s Relish, a traveling art initiative that empowers, connects, and celebrates creative communities everywhere through a growing range of special projects.

“For the past seven years that I've been running these brands, I’ve worked with a lot of really, really talented artists,” says Victor, who curates and writes for GRØSS. “Because of that, I've definitely had a hard time identifying as an artist…when I tell [people] what I do, they're like, ‘Oh, are you an artist yourself?’ I would usually kind of shy away and be like, ‘Oh, no. Not really.’ But getting back into this has helped me claim my own identity as an artist, a creative.”

Tune into our conversation with GRØSS Magazine’s Victor Gonzalez to hear the founder’s thoughts on writing (“very therapeutic”) and get a sneak peek at the upcoming art documentary he’s producing.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Background on Victor, his love of art, and his entrepreneurial pursuits.
• His publication, GRØSS Magazine, and what motivated him to launch the GCS Agency.
• How the pandemic reinvigorated his passion for art and artists.
• Victor’s thoughts on why he struggles with identifying as an artist.
• Being the child of immigrant parents and the resourcefulness they instilled in him.
• Ways that Victor has honed his writing skills over the years.
• Starting a media company with virtually no capital and the art of wearing many different hats!
• The story behind the name, GRØSS.
• How he founded the Relish Traveling Art Program as a way to create community.
• Victor’s take on the current state of art media and art journalism.
• AI in the art world and how Victor has been using it for rapid ideation.
• A sneak peek at the art documentary that he’s is producing.
• Victor’s first anniversary with his wife and the “miraculous” story of how they met.
• Tips for artists on building their practice, their career, and their business,
• Some of the exciting upcoming plans for GRØSS and Relish.

For more information, please visit http://notrealart.com/gross-magazine