Photo courtesy of Art.Fair.Mont.
SF Art Week doesn’t need more noise. It needs clarity.
With FOG Design+Art firmly established as the week’s gravitational center, the question for new endeavors isn’t how to compete—it’s whether there’s room to add something unique, intentional, and actually useful to San Francisco’s art ecosystem.
Art.Fair.Mont is one of the three new fairs debuting this year, but it’s taking a noticeably different approach. With just nine exhibitors, a deliberately early-week schedule, and set at the iconic Fairmont hotel that does much of the atmospheric work for it, the fair is betting on pacing, context, and trust over scale.
We spoke with Art.Fair.Mont founder Victor Gonzalez (GCS Agency) about why launching now made sense, who this fair is actually for, and what success looks like in a city that’s still finding its footing.
Citlali Haro, courtesy of Pali Galeria and Art.Fair.Mont.
Questions are in bold. Answers are by Art.Fair.Mont founder Victor Gonzalez (GCS Agency).
Launching a new fair during SF Art Week is ambitious—not to mention crowded. What gap did you feel wasn’t being filled that made this worth doing now?
FOG is rightly the anchor of SF Art Week—it sets the tone, and it doesn’t make sense to compete with that. But a week like this has so much potential beyond one gravitational center. There’s room for intentional, thoughtfully placed programming that adds color rather than noise.
Art.Fair.Mont exists in that space. It’s deliberately early in the week, deliberately scaled, and deliberately housed somewhere with real presence. The combination of an intimate fair format and the Fairmont’s beaux-arts, historically rich setting creates a very particular kind of experience—one that invites people to slow down and actually engage. If you want to be there, you’ll be there. No scheduled gymnastics required. No excuses.
With just nine exhibitors, Art.Fair.Mont is intentionally scaled. What guided those choices—and who is this fair for (or not for)?
Every exhibitor is either a direct relationship or one degree of separation from me. That was important. Trust, alignment, and shared values matter more to me than filling square footage.
It was also essential to strike a balance between local flavor and outside perspective. Supporting the local community doesn’t mean turning inward—it means placing local voices in dialogue with peers from elsewhere. That exchange benefits everyone, creatively and perceptually.
This fair is for people who care about context, conversation, and quality. It’s probably not for someone looking to sprint through 100 booths in an hour. That’s okay. There are other places for that.
Photo courtesy of Art.Fair.Mont.
Is there a reason you chose the Fairmont specifically? How does the Pavilion Room influence how people encounter the work compared to a conventional fair setup?
The Fairmont is central to this story. From the moment you arrive, the building carries a sense of occasion––the exterior is commanding, the lobby is grand, and it sets a tone before you even see a single artwork.
The Pavilion Room itself is special. It’s almost entirely wrapped in windows—and we’re intentionally keeping them unobstructed to allow natural light to flood the space. That alone changes how the work is experienced. Most fairs take place in warehouses, convention centers, or tents. This is an ornate, light-filled room layered with history, warmth, and memory. There’s also a beautiful rooftop garden just outside, which adds to the sense of pause and presence.
The exhibitor list spans San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Houston, Mexico City, and Zimbabwe. What was the curatorial logic behind that mix?
A lot of this builds on what I mentioned earlier about exchange. I wasn’t interested in importing a market or chasing prestige for prestige’s sake. I was interested in inviting peers—galleries and platforms that are doing meaningful work in their own cities and communities.
There’s a mutual benefit when local exhibitors are shown alongside thoughtful, value-aligned exhibitors from outside the region. It broadens the conversation, strengthens optics, and avoids insularity.
Layer is a great example of intentionality here. Their generative display technology is genuinely pioneering, and it feels synonymous with San Francisco’s legacy of innovation. Including them is about acknowledging how art and technology continue to evolve together. Also, seeing the Layer canvas in person really stops you in your tracks.
Zach Lieberman, courtesy of Layer and Art.Fair.Mont.
SF has been in a weird moment lately: gallery closures, the “doom loop” narrative, and collectors moving differently. Where do you see Art.Fair.Mont fitting into the city’s landscape as it actually is right now?
Art.Fair.Mont is part of the broader GCS Agency ecosystem (along with Grøss Magazine and Relish Art Program), which has always been experimental and experiential by nature. That’s how things stay fresh—and avoid stagnation.
Right now, the focus is on launching this first edition smoothly and with integrity. Then we’ll immediately turn toward applying momentum and learnings. There are already meaningful conversations happening with game-changing partners who think long-term and understand that cultural momentum doesn’t happen overnight.
This fair isn’t meant to “fix” anything—it is meant to contribute something real.
Public days are free with a suggested donation benefiting ABG Foundation. How are you balancing accessibility with the financial realities of producing a fair at this scale?
The Svane Family Foundation’s Culture Forward grant gave us just enough support to bring this first edition to life—and we’re matching that investment ourselves. We’re doubling down because the long-term potential is clear.
This fair is more than a business opportunity for me and GCS Agency. It’s a cultural moment I’m genuinely proud to help bring into the world. Accessibility matters, and so does sustainability. I’m confident that if the work is done thoughtfully, the rewards (financial or otherwise) will follow.
Courtesy of Mark Schoening and Art.Fair.Mont.
As a first-year project, what would success look like—and what would tell you it needs to change or pivot?
Success, to me, looks like a smooth production, a focused and engaged audience, and a handful of meaningful sales or placements. Quality over quantity, always.
We’re managing expectations intentionally and keeping this grounded in what’s realistic given our resources and timeline. As for pivots—that’s something you only truly understand once you’re on the other side. We’ll listen carefully and adjust accordingly.
Lastly, looking ahead, if Art.Fair.Mont is still around in five years, what do you hope it’s known for beyond being “boutique”?
I’d love for it to be considered a crucial, unmissable part of SF Art Week—something people genuinely look forward to. Also, Fairmont has other incredible venues at this location that we have discussed activating: The Crown Room, The Tonga Room, The Presidential Suite…not to mention, Fairmont has many other incredible locations…“Today, Fairmont operates 77 hotels in 28 countries with an exciting development pipeline for the next few years. In 3 years, we will grow to 98 hotels in 30 countries.”
Boutique isn’t the goal; relevance is. If we grow, it’ll be steady and intentional. I’m far more interested in longevity than flash.
Art.Fair.Mont isn’t promising a reset, a renaissance, or a rescue narrative, and that restraint may be its strongest move. Whether it becomes a long-term fixture will depend on what happens beyond this first edition, including sales, placements, and a willingness to evolve. But as a debut, it makes a strong case for intentional scale and for doing less on purpose during one of the city’s busiest art weeks.
Know before you go
Art.Fair.Mont at Fairmont San Francisco
950 Mason St., San Francisco, CA 94108
Rideshare is encouraged.
Schedule
- Jan 18: VIP Opening (invite only) · Join the list
- Jan 19–20: Public Days (11 AM–7 PM) · Free entry, $10 suggested donation
Exhibitors
- Pali Galería (Mexico City)
- Long Road Projects (Pittsburgh)
- Mark Schoening (Minneapolis)
- Mitochondria Gallery (Houston)
- Layer (Los Angeles)
- ABG Art Group (Oakland)
- Slab of Africa (Zimbabwe)
- Creative Coma (San Francisco)
- GCS Agency (San Francisco)
More info: art-fair-mont.com