There are no longer binary machines: question-answer, masculine-feminine, man-animal, etc. This could be what a conversation is – simply the outline of a becoming.

-Gilles Deleuze and Claire Parnet, Dialogues

MASS Gallery is pleased to present Proxemics, an exhibition featuring six artists who wield the human body as a tool for communication through character creation, distortion, and documentation:  Ben Aqua (Austin, TX), Felipe Baeza (Brooklyn, NY), Xavier Schipani (Austin, TX), Silky Shoemaker (Oakland, CA), riel Sturchio (Austin, TX), and Jaimie Warren (Brooklyn, NY).

Bodies, selves, others, and other selves are presented in unrestricted and unapologetic forms. These figures take up space, and new contexts are laid bare. Representations transcend classic depictions of the human form, investigating perceptions of assumed, controlled, or reclaimed identity. In proximity to each other, the work in Proxemics examines how a body may be critiqued or claimed, presented or perceived.

Proxemics will be on view at MASS Gallery from January 19th through February 24th, with an opening party on January 19th from 7-10pm.

Stay tuned for additional exhibition related public events as part of MASS’ public programming series, Close Encounters.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Ben Aqua is a multidisciplinary artist based in Austin, Texas. Born in Brooklyn, New York, his visual work has been exhibited internationally and published in Rolling Stone, NPR, NYLON, SPIN, NME, Flaunt, Bloomberg Businessweek, OUT, ARKITIP, XLR8R, Beautiful/Decay, Rhizome, Hi-Fructose, JOGGING and Fecal Face. His music has been featured by Interview, The Creators Project, Mad Decent, DFA, VICE, Dummy Mag, FACT, Modular, URB, BUTT and Opening Ceremony. He also runs the experimental art & music label #FEELINGS.

Felipe Baeza, born in Guanajuato, Mexico, works primarily with painting and collage as a tool to create political spaces, Baeza’s recent projects consider how memory, migration and displacement work to create a state of hybridity and fugitivity. Utilizing his own biography to reflect on personal experiences and to explore the persistent effects of social institutions and cultural practices on the individual. Baeza’s art practice aims to imagine structures and possibilities for the self-emancipation of the hybrid-fugitive body that lives in/is persistently subjected to hostile conditions. He received his BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 2009, and is currently an 2018 MFA Candidate in the Painting/Printmaking program at Yale School of Art. Lives between Brooklyn, NY and New Haven, CT. He is the 2017 recipient of the The Robert Schoelkopf Memorial Traveling Fellowship and The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation Fellowship.

Xavier Schipani is an artist operating out of East Austin, Texas. His work explores urgent socio-political themes, with a specific focus on sex and gender and how society’s restrictive approach to these subjects causes dysfunction and incites fear. Actively inviting his audience to be turned on by his images, that often feature either literal or abstract representations of non-binary figures, creates an experimental atmosphere, where the sexual and gender norms are momentarily relaxed and a space for self-exploration appears.

Silky Shoemaker is a performer, visual artist, and community organizer living in Oakland, CA. She makes work that explores the absurdity and profundity of queer life and culture. Silky’s work has been seen in venues such as Arthouse at the Jones Center (Austin), The Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Joe’s Pub (NYC) as well as punk houses and nursing homes around the world. Silky co-created GAYBIGAYGAY Queer Music Fest in Texas and also curated the world’s first Gay Wax Museum.

riel Sturchio was born in Maine and grew up in various parts of the state, experiencing both the solitude of the natural forests and the business of the small city of Portland. Riel received a BFA from Maine College of Art (2012) with concentrations in photography and art history. riel is currently pursuing an MFA at the University of Texas, Austin (2018) with practices in photography, sound art, bookmaking, video, and writing. riel Sturchio’s work revolves around the body, breath, language, and gender, which coalesces through includes photography, bookmaking, poetry, music, sound, and videography. riel’s current video installation utilizes spoken poetry, music, and the figure to complicate themes of touch, and communication. riel received a BFA in Photography from the Maine College of Art in Portland, ME (2012) and is currently an MFA candidate in Photography at the University of Austin, Texas (2018). Sturchio’s work has been widely supported by grants including the John Anson Kittredge Fund, The Maine Arts Commission, The Alexia Foundation, and Google, and has been exhibited in several venues, including most recently a two-person solo show called Body is a Bridge at the Visual Arts Center in Austin, Texas.

Jaimie Warren is a photographer and performance artist creating works both independently as well as collaboratively with youth and community groups. She was born in 1980 in Waukesha, Wisconsin and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She is co-creator and co-director of the community-engaged and artist-led fake television show Whoop Dee Doo.

Recent solo exhibitions of Warren’s work have been presented in New York at The Hole, Higher Pictures and American Medium, and in California at Helmuth Projects and San Francisco Camerawork. Warren’s work has been highlighted in publications including The New York Times, artnet, ArtNews, New York Magazine, ArtFCity, FOAM, ArtForum and Dazed & Confused, among others.

Warren is a 2017 Brooklyn Arts Council SU-CASA Artist-in Residence, a 2016 Maker’s Muse Awardee, a 2015 fellow in Interdisciplinary Arts from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a 2015 Abrons AIRspace resident. She is the recipient of the 2014 Baum Award for An Emerging American Photographer, and she is the subject of a 2008 monograph published by Aperture. Warren is a featured artist in ART21’s documentary series “New York Close Up”, and she is the recipient of a United States Presidential Scholars Program Teacher Recognition Award.

MASS: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS presents a closing party for current exhibition Proxemics with a special performance by Austin-based performer p1nkstar, with special guest Y2K. Join us at MASS Gallery this Friday, February 23rd at 7 PM to get one last view of the exhibition and see some bodies in action!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
p1nkstar (ur fav electr0nic pop superstar!!) performs futuristic multimedia live sets which include video transitions, projection mapping, hologram illusions, lights and choreographed numbers with backup dancers, outfit changes, guest performers, etc., all while singing catchy electropop songs about partying or being cute or sex! p1nkstar is the pop star of the post-queer-takeover future. p1nkstar was one of the headlining acts for the 2017 edition of gAyCL; other notable performances include OUTsider Fest 2018, ARTBASH 2017 by Austin Art Alliance, Y’all or Nothing (a SXSW showcase by Stargayzer Fest and Mouthfeel), and Magical Realness at the Museum of Human Achievement.

R U ready 2 Y2kiki? Yung Kwane (Y2K)  the desirous virus hacking her way into the motherboard of ATXs queer underground scene, reprogramming your hearts and minds to a vibration right in time with the bit rot of a nation swimming in adulation of glowing screens and its obsessive need for a glowing queen. Pushing the craft to new heights, Y2K has become known for her impressive projection mapping performances and innovative use of technology. A recognizable face in Austin’s burgeoning queer art scene, Yung Kwane can most often be found performing at underground events and queer parties.

ABOUT PROXEMICS
On view until February 24th, Proxemics is an exhibition featuring six artists who wield the human body as a tool for communication through character creation, distortion, and documentation:  Ben Aqua (Austin, TX), Felipe Baeza (Brooklyn, NY), Xavier Schipani (Austin, TX), Silky Shoemaker (Oakland, CA), riel Sturchio (Austin, TX), and Jaimie Warren (Brooklyn, NY).

Bodies, selves, others, and other selves are presented in unrestricted and unapologetic forms. These figures take up space, and new contexts are laid bare. Representations transcend classic depictions of the human form, investigating perceptions of assumed, controlled, or reclaimed identity. In proximity to each other, the work in Proxemics examines how a body may be critiqued or claimed, presented or perceived.

ABOUT CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
With each exhibition, MASS solicits artists to devise a program designed to provide new methods of engaging the public’s curiosity, inviting them to participate intellectually or physically with the exhibition space, as well as the artist’s work and concepts. Open and broad, this prompt can be approached in a multitude of ways: performance based, passive, or completely radical in execution or thought, and is designed to provide a new way of encountering and understanding the creative process.

MASS is extremely excited to announce we’ll be hosting Got it For Cheap Saturday, March 3, 2018 from 6-10pm! The event will feature over 700 local, national, and international artists and all of the work is available for $30 a piece!

Click here for the list of over 700 participating artists →

Got It For Cheap (GIFC) is a traveling art show curated by artists Charlie Roberts, Chris Rexroad and Jordan ‘Watts’ Watson, that features more than 750 participating artists from around the world. Well-known artists are displayed alongside a range of their up- and-coming contemporaries. The broad selection of works available are all originals, roughly the size of A4 (8,5×11″) and priced at the local equivalent of 30 USD. Since January of 2016 GIFC has held shows in at least 6 cities annually, and plan on increasing the number to 30 shows a year.

The goal of GIFC is to make buying original art accessible to all people and to give young artists a platform to both sell their work and be exposed to a worldwide audience. With each drawing priced at $30, GIFC allows the average person to participate in the contemporary art market. Young people get a chance to become first time collectors. Additionally, the low price allows the artist to loosen up, have fun and experiment with their art in ways that often get put aside when trying to produce longer and more involved work.

Since the beginning of GIFC, dozens of young artists have been discovered through the shows and the online presence, resulting in exhibitions at established galleries. With people lining up hours before the openings to be the first through the door and secure a particular artist, the shows offer an excitement and engagement from the public that isn’t often seen in the art world. The format of the show brings to mind the ‘Explore’ feed on Instagram with the stacks of drawings piled on tables. Social media has played a hand in the formation and communication of the project. It seems that in this screen-age, the desire to obtain original, material artworks have increased.

In 2017 GIFC has grown to include over 700 artists participating in 7 shows. Taking its cue from mixtape culture and the changing dynamics of the art industry in the Instagram age, the concept recognizes the value in young artists getting the exposure and connections these shows provide. For established artists GIFC is a chance to give their biggest fans a shot at buying a piece, increasing fan engagement and introducing their work to a new and excited audience.

Some notable artists that have taken part:
Nina Chanel Abney, Brad Phillips, Austin Lee, Chelsea Culprit, Ann Cathrin November Hoibo, Morgan Blair, Anna Bjerger, Anja Solenen, Anton Horfee, Christof Mascher, Morgan Blair, Kristy Luck and Drake Carr.

Opening Friday, March 30, 7-10pm

MASS + 1 is a group show of MASS members who have each invited a +1 to show alongside or collaborate with.

noun
noun: mass; plural noun: masses

1.

a coherent, typically large body of matter with no definite shape.

“a mass of curly hair”

synonyms: pile, heap; More

a large number of people or objects crowded together.

“a mass of cyclists”

synonyms: crowd, horde, large group, throng, host, troop, army, herd, flock, drove, swarm, mob, pack, press, crush, flood, multitude

“a mass of cyclists”

a large amount of material.

“a mass of conflicting evidence”

informal

a large quantity or amount of something.

“we get masses of homework”

any of the main portions in a painting or drawing that each have some unity in color, lighting, or some other quality.

“the masterly distribution of masses”

Featuring:

Ida Behjat + Alex Diamond

Andrea Calo + Eva Claycomb

Ted Carey + Maggie Mannell

Michelle Devereux + Shampane Hobo

Erin Gentry + Erica Nix

Jules Jones + Charlie Jones

Drew Liverman + Veronica Giavedoni

Rick Mansfield + Mark Kovitya

Scott Proctor + Rebeca Milton

Opening Reception Friday, May 25, 7-10pm

The exhibition Regional Fictions re-contextualizes this literary term to examine the lies, falsifications, and omissions present in the lore of a particular geographical region, particularly as it is taught to school age children. Text and installation-based works mine educational materials and methods of presentation to imagine what these items might look like from multiple “de-colonized” perspectives.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Julia Barbosa Landois is a multidisciplinary artist based in Houston, whose work has been featured in galleries, museums, and performance festivals in the USA, Latin America and Europe. Her awards include grants from Artpace and the Artist Foundation of San Antonio, as well as residencies at the Santa Fe Art Institute (USA), Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder (Norway), and Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Germany). Before her recent relocation to Houston, Barbosa Landois spent a decade in San Antonio working as a mercenary professor, youth arts instructor, preparator, gallery assistant, and math tutor. She holds a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.julialandois.com

Jamal Cyrus received his BFA from the University of Houston in 2004 and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. In 2005 he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and in 2010 he was an Artist in Residence at Artpace San Antonio. Cyrus has won several awards, including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, the Artadia Houston Award, and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. Currently based in Houston Texas, Cyrus’s work with deals with revisionist approaches to American history, particularly within the realm of Black politics and sound production. He is also a founding member of the artist collective Otabenga Jones & Associates. 

As part of the exhibition Regional Fictions, participating artist Julia Barbosa Landois will moderate a panel discussion addressing decolonization in educational settings.

How can educators facilitate decolonization as an internal, intellectual process, and how can art play an integral role? Our guests will discuss things like unpacking dominant historical narratives, fostering respect during difficult conversations, rethinking classroom power dynamics, and nurturing an environment of curiosity, justice, and love. Attendees will go home with educational materials and may win some art goodies from the Amplifier Foundation.

Panelists:

Maribel Valdez Gonzalez, M. Ed. leads the Education Amplifier program at Amplifier Foundation. The goal of the program is to support and amplify the voices of social change movements by creating meaningful ways for K-12 educators and students to engage with art. 

Antonio Valdez Gonzalez is a 7th and 8th-grade fine arts teacher for the San Antonio Independent School District and an active member of the Education Amplifier network.

Silvia Zuvieta-Rodriguez is a high school student and Advanced Leader with Youth Rise Texas. Youth Rise Texas is an Austin-based organization that cultivates youth as long-term leaders for justice by facilitating creative change work around criminalization and deportation.

Moderator:

Julia Barbosa Landois is a Houston-based artist and educator who has taught children, teens, college students, and elders. She currently works for Urban Harvest as a Garden Educator in public schools and will begin teaching at the University of Houston’s School of Art in the fall of 2018.

ABOUT CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
With each exhibition, MASS solicits artists to devise a program designed to provide new methods of engaging the public’s curiosity, inviting them to participate intellectually or physically with the exhibition space, as well as the artist’s work and concepts. Open and broad, this prompt can be approached in a multitude of ways: performance based, passive, or completely radical in execution or thought, and is designed to provide a new way of encountering and understanding the creative process.

END TIMES IN BABYLON: special one night book release with Conner O’Leary and friends.  Paintings, music and free drinks!

MASS is excited to announce the recipient of this year’s Hotbox residency, Rachael Henson. A recent UT BFA graduate, Henson’s work explores the relationship between past memories and present perception, confronting the duality of comfort/discomfort in domestic environments and across cultural lines. Using photography, installation, sculpture, and performance, Henson utilizes domestic material to reflect on her personal response to ideas of identity and transition.

This year, MASS is partnering with St. Edward’s University to host the annual Hotbox residency program, which transforms a gallery space into a working studio for one month of the summer. As MASS transitions to a new gallery location this summer, St. Edward’s University will host the Hotbox residency in their Fine Arts Gallery.

This residency program, now in its sixth year, seeks individual artists or artist-teams interested in participating in a self-directed residency in Austin, TX. MASS’s goal is to give artists the opportunity to explore new ideas or practices, and allow the participating artists to engage with the Austin community through their Close Encounters public programming series. Rachael Henson will participate in a Close Encounter on Friday, August 17th, from 7-10pm.

*NOTE: The Hotbox Open Studios will be held at St. Edwards Fine Arts Center 3001 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704

MASS is excited to announce the recipient of this year’s Hotbox residency, Rachael Henson. A recent UT BFA graduate, Henson’s work explores the relationship between past memories and present perception, confronting the duality of comfort/discomfort in domestic environments and across cultural lines. Using photography, installation, sculpture, and performance, Henson utilizes domestic material to reflect on her personal response to ideas of identity and transition.

This year, MASS is partnering with St. Edward’s University to host the annual Hotbox residency program, which transforms a gallery space into a working studio for one month of the summer. As MASS transitions to a new gallery location this summer, St. Edward’s University will host the Hotbox residency in their Fine Arts Gallery.

This residency program, now in its sixth year, seeks individual artists or artist-teams interested in participating in a self-directed residency in Austin, TX. MASS’s goal is to give artists the opportunity to explore new ideas or practices, and allow the participating artists to engage with the Austin community through their Close Encounters public programming series. Rachael Henson will participate in a Close Encounter on Friday, August 17th, from 7-10pm.

ABOUT CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

With each exhibition, MASS solicits artists to devise a program designed to provide new methods of engaging the public’s curiosity, inviting them to participate intellectually or physically with the exhibition space, as well as the artist’s work and concepts. Open and broad, this prompt can be approached in a multitude of ways: performance based, passive, or completely radical in execution or thought, and is designed to provide a new way of encountering and understanding the creative process.