We were lucky to catch up with Genesis Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Genesis , thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Ok, here we go! I moved to the U.S.A 8 years ago. The main reason why I left my country was the political situation. At that time, I was obsessed with Pixar and Computer Animation. I started studying it but after 6 months, I realized it was not my passion. One day, talking to one of my professors he proposed the idea of applying to the Master of Fine Arts in my school (btw, this professor was just filling in for another one, the official one had a last-minute job offer in LA and he left, so this was not even his regular classes) Anyways, I put together a portfolio, they approved, and I started the master. I first started working on a night documentary, a kind of mysterious photography, and I also started exploring abstract photography. One night, during my class, the same professor started checking the assignment for that week, and he found one photo (that I forgot to put out of that folder) that was abstract photography, I was very nervous because he had this amazing professional reputation and all I was thinking was, “he is going to kill me, this is an out of focus photo, this is it” He stared at the photo for a good couple of minutes, and then he looked at me and he said “I like this one, keep experimenting” And that’s how “Let there be light” started. After that class, I made it my MFA project and spent the next two years experimenting with light, and different types of surfaces to present my work, all the way from traditional photo paper to metal. Those two years were therapeutic for me, being away from home and family, being by myself in a different country, and facing all types of personal challenges was tough. On the other hand, I put all my focus on my photography project, and years after that I’m very proud of been exhibiting my work worldwide in over 30 art exhibitions in art galleries and museums, all the amazing art fairs I have visited, all the special people I have been connecting with and my evolution as a visual artist. And it all started with one or two crazy and “wrong” decisions.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and I’m currently living and working in Miami, FL as a Creative Director & Visual Artist artist. Fine Art Photography is still my passion, and I would love to keep producing abstract photography and videos, while connecting with people around the world. I graduated from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, Caracas, Venezuela in 2012 with a degree in Mass Media Production, then graduated from Miami International University of Art & Design in Miami, Florida in 2016 with a Master of Fine Arts, and got a Digital Marketing Strategies certificate from Harvard Extension School in 2018.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I had this vision about me coming to the USA, studying computer animation, and working in a very specific type of company. However, things changed, opportunities arose, and I got a great lesson on how to be open to all types of outcomes, and embrace change with a positive attitude makes everything lighter and better. To be honest, I got very stressed about how things weren’t developed as I had in my mind, and looking back I definitely spent too many hours being worried and anxious about it. Little did I know that all those turns around were actually leading me to a better future. Literally, what I thought was a mistake as a photographer was the first step to develop a whole career as a Fine Art Photographer and also my special opportunity to stay here in the USA while working on a career that I deeply love.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I’m open to it, I want to learn as much as I can from it
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.genesisgonzalez.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ggart8/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genesisgonzalez8/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genesis-gonzalez-28810/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggart8
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG1jLU1m7anF-UyP3lMHMfg