Julio Gonzalez is a self-taught multimedia artist and a native of Atlanta, Georgia. Since leaving Atlanta as a young teenager, Julio has traveled extensively and exhibited his work in murals, galleries, and museums across the Southeast. One of Gonzalez’s defining characteristics as an artist is his use of Mexican and Mayan design elements to explore questions of contemporary life and values.
Gonzalez cites the simple question “What if?” as a cornerstone of his creativity and practice, a way to approach his ideas from different sides and explore them to the fullest. He hopes viewers of his work will find themselves asking the same question and rediscovering their sense of interconnectedness, curiosity, and childlike wonder. The simple phrase “What if?” is the concept behind the name Wonder What If, a project of which Julio is the Creative Director.
Gonzalez’ work was displayed at SHAG in the January 2021 show, Legacy, alongside fellow Charlotte artist de’Angelo Dia.