Meet Max GEMS Gonzales | Muralist and Graffiti Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Max GEMS Gonzales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Max GEMS, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
As a muralist, you definitely have to be willing to compromise. Every artist is constantly told that they need to always charge what they’re worth and to not undervalue their art. Unfortunately, in cities where art is undervalued entirely, you will have trouble charging what you should a the beginning of your career. You will need to create a portfolio of murals in order to start getting commissioned to do murals. To create that portfolio of murals, you will need to seek out properties that seem like they could use a mural and be ready to be denied over and over again. In some cases, you might only be able to ask the property owner to pay for the cost of paint, but what’s important is that you try and make the best quality art that you can with these first murals. Each mural you paint will serve as a billboard for your next job. This is a process I had to go through, but it absolutely worked and now I can charge what I like and I have clients reaching out to me. This also gives me the liberty to charge my clients at whatever rate I think is appropriate for the scale of their business. I will never charge a mom-and-pop shop the same rate as a major corporation and this allows me even donate my work to any cause I think appropriate. Value yourself and your art but you have to accept the environment that it exists in and be ready for all of its challenges.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career as a professional muralist is entirely the result of my illegal graffiti career under the moniker, GEMS. I did attend a visual arts college, graduated with honors, and went on to work at the university as a staff member. However, the only role my alma mater had in my mural career was supplying a staff member snitch who stole my belongings as a freshman and then held on to those belongings for 4 years to be used as the only evidence in convicting me for my ~art crimes~. After being sentenced to 1 year of house arrest, 300 hours of community service, 58k in restitution, and a probation sentence that will only end once I pay off that restitution, I knew that I had to make the most of the situation and start paying off that mountain of money. With the amount of media attention I got as “Pittsburgh’s Most Wanted”, I knew that the graffiti task force had in some way done a massive campaign for “GEMS”. I decided to roll with that momentum and start selling artwork under and running massive, group gallery shows under the same name. My first legitimate mural opportunity was offered to me by Central Outreach Wellness Center, and as soon as I had completed that job with my artist friend Chu, I knew that murals were the direction I wanted to go. Something I learned from this whole mess is that no matter the circumstance, you can make the most of it and try and move on from it and above it. The circumstance I was in presented me with a challenge that I am still battling to this day, but at this point, I am able to write my own narrative for the betterment of myself and those around me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being that I am sober, I am not much of a party animal, but I am able to offer some fun experiences that are not dependent on being inebriated. If you happen to be in town on the first Friday of the month, you’re in luck. Every First Friday, the neighborhood of Garfield hosts tons of gallery openings and events all along Penn Ave. This is a great spot for food, entertainment, purchasing art, selling art, and getting to meet a lot of locals. I am a little biased since I do help run the Graffiti Art Program for Rivers of Steel, but the Carrie Furnaces in Rankin is also an amazing site to see. You might even get the chance to do a graffiti tour and workshop with me. If you do have the itch to try out some spray paint for yourself as well, you can hop over to Daily Bread first to purchase some streetwear and spray paint. Then you can head over to the Legal Graffiti Alley on the side of Trace Brewing in Bloomfield. Bloomfield also has some great restaurants and shops all along liberty ave. After you’re done painting, you can go across the street to Cobra Lounge for some amazing Korean food and private Karaoke.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My entire professional pursuit in the arts is the result of my high school art teacher, Patrick Page. My whole life, I have been an avid drawer and fan of graffiti and anime, but it was not until high school that I pursued art beyond the realm of a hobby. Patrick identified my artistic potential from early on and insisted that I took all of the visual art courses that I could. By my senior year, I had developed a portfolio that won me many awards and a full-ride scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University. If it wasn’t for the push that Patrick gave me, I would’ve never pursued an art career and I would’ve never moved to Pittsburgh and then I would’ve never started a mural career. Obviously, there are many stories to tell of all of those that have influenced me and there could be an endless list of people to shout out, but here are a few (kind of in chronological order): Mom, Dad, Zach, Grace, Apathy, Andrew Johnson, Ayanah Moor, Devan Shimoyama, Chu, Aaron Regal, Darrell Kinsel, Brian Gonnella, Danny Devine, Matt Spahr, Francis Connelly, Shane Pilster, Skan, Krush, Duke, Eryn Oberst, and many more.

Website: dowhatwelove.com

Instagram: @goodboygems