MASS Gallery

Mission

MASS was founded in 2006 in a former auto body shop that was part of the Blue Theater complex behind the Blue Hanger thrift store on Springdale Road in Austin, Texas. Through the creative energy of a shifting collection of Austin artists, and with support and encouragement from impresario Ron Berry, MASS presented more than forty exhibitions, events and other indescribable occurrences between 2006 and 2010, many of which live on only in the minds of those who experienced them. During that period, MASS served as a launching pad for artists, a place where big ideas could have their first expression, and a site for the type of art that wasn’t on view elsewhere in the city. Recently relocated to the energetic and diverse complex of 507 Calles Street, MASS consists of a 1500-square foot gallery, several large work studios, and a robust season of film screenings, musical performances, openings, and community outreach activities.

MASS is…

Xochi Solis is a painter living and working in Austin, Texas. In addition to her studio practice, she is also the Director of Events and Public Programming at the Visual Arts Center, University of Texas at Austin. She received her B.F.A in Studio Art from the University of Texas in 2005. Concentrating on painting during her undergraduate career, she gained experience and insight  by a semester abroad in Tuscany, as part of UT’s College of Fine Arts Study in Italy program, as well as a semester in Mexico City. In 2011, Solis exhibited a solo project at SOFA Gallery entitled All the Clouds Turn to Words and in January 2013 has a forthcoming solo exhibition—Rivers of our Vision—in Houston, TX at the Lawndale Art Center. Her group exhibitions include the 2008 edition of New Art in Austin: 20 to Watch at the Austin Museum of Art, and the 13th Annual Young Latino Art Exhibition at Mexic-Arte Museum. Previous to her work at the University of Texas, she was the Executive Director of the 2009 Texas Biennial and is currently an active member of MASS Gallery.

Jules Buck Jones is a practicing artist living and working in Austin, TX.  Jules recieved his BFA from VCU in Richmond, VA in 2005 and received his MFA from UT Austin in 2008.  Over the years Jules has developed a body of work dealing primarily with animal imagery and thoughts on biology, ecology, mythology, and transformation.  He participated in the Austin Museum of Art’s “20 to Watch” show in the spring of 2008 and was the Artist in Residence in Everglades National Park in May and June of 2009.  In 2011 Jules has completed residencies at the Vermont Studio Center in VT, the Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture in ME,  Buoy Gallery, ME, and received a fellowship for a residency on Fisher’s Island, NY.  Jules shows extensively throughout TX with solo shows in Dallas, Austin, and Houston.  Jules is also part of Boozefox, a collaborative teams practicing large scale installations and has been an active member of MASS Gallery since 2006.

Aaron Dubrow is a science writer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and a founding member of MASS. He received his BA in English from Williams College and an MA in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin. He attended residencies at Skowhegan and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and his documentary films have screened at film festivals nationally and on PBS. At TACC, Aaron writes articles and produces short films about futuristic science performed on some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. He has curated several shows for MASS, including Methods of Entanglement, Ping Pong, Systems of Growth and Decay, and 20MB, all of which touched on issues of technology and science. Currently, Aaron is leading the Alley Cat Project, funded by a grant from the Idea Fund. He serves as treasurer for MASS.

Erin Elizabeth Curtis was born in Albany, New York in 1977. She has lived in Austin, TX for the last 10 years. Curtis attended The Glasgow School of Art in 1998 and graduated from William College with a BA in Liberal Arts in June of 1999.  In May 2007, she received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and she attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2010.  She has had solo shows at David Shelton Gallery, San Antonio, TX, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, Champion Contemporary and Women and Their Work Gallery, Austin, TX, Kashi Art Gallery, Kochi, Kerala, India, and Lawndale Art Center in Houston, TX.  In 2008- 2009, Erin was a Fulbright Scholar in Jaipur, Rajasthan.  She was in residence at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, CO during the winter of 2012.  Curtis received the Dozier Travel Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art in 2012 to travel to Guatemala and study traditional textiles and architecture.  She is currently designing a large public art piece for the City of Austin that will be installed downtown along 8 blocks of 3rd Street.

Drew Liverman is an artist and designer living in Austin, TX.  Drew received his BFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002.  Drew’s drawing, painting, screen-printing, video/animation, and installation work has been featured in Beautiful Decay Magazine and shown in The Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Scotland; Atelier als Supermedium Artists Space for Contemporary Art Den Haag/Rijswijk, The Netherlands; and the Lawndale Art Center in Houston, Texas.  In addition to his personal work, Drew contributes to the Austin, TX based art collective, Boozefox and has been an active MASS member since 2007.

Laura Uhlir is a photographer, stylist and small business owner living and working in Austin Texas.  Laura was born in Austin, Texas and raised in a small town in East Texas. She received her B.F.A. in Visual Art Studies from the University of Texas in 2007.  In her time since college Laura has worked in galleries and museums in a breadth of roles. Currently Laura owns and operates a vintage store, Olive, in East Austin, curates exhibitions for the shop and writes a blog, Rad Lady, chronicling smart, creative women. Additionally, Laura is an active member of MASS Gallery.

Raymond Uhlir was born in Hinsdale, Illinois in 1979. He earned his BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas – Austin in 2002 and his MFA in Studio Art from the University of California – Santa Barbara in 2010. He has been active in several artistic collectives, has had been shown at various galleries and museums across the United States. He currently lives and works in Austin, Texas.

Scott Proctor is an artist and educator currently living and working in Austin Texas. Scott Received his BFA from Western Michigan University and his MFA at the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. Since graduation, Scott participated in the Austin Museum of Art’s “20 To Watch” show in the spring of 2008. He has been a resident artist at OXBOW in Sagatuck Michigan, a Lecturer at Temple College in Temple Texas, and now a lecturer at the University of Texas. Scott continues to maintain a professional art practice in his  Austin studio as well as exhibiting regularly in Texas and across the country. In addition to his art practice and his teaching, Scott is a preparator at the Visual Art Center on the University of Texas campus and is an active member of MASS Gallery.

Andy Rihn was born in 1975 in San Antonio, Texas and raised in South Texas.  Over the years he has founded a performance art group, recorded with a U.S. touring French rock band, done annual postering campaigns, hosted an interview show for Volcom Ent., and released a book with Monofonus Press titled ‘The Tiger’s Last Tooth’.  His installations, performances, sculptures, and drawings have shown at El Cosmico, Okay Mountain, Gallery Lombardi, San Jose Hotel, Eleven Seventeen Garland, Common House, The LMNL, Monofonus Compound, Domy Books, the Yellow Jacket Social Club and other Texas galleries.   He has also created and curated shows for Darkroom Gallery, Frontera Fest, and Fusebox @ Okay Mountatain.  In 2011 Rihn was the recipient of a grant from The Idea Fund, through The Andy Warhol Foundation, and created and directed ‘Texas’ Longest Hammer Choir’, a large-scale art happening and film shoot. He has a wife and two children and currently lives and works in Austin, Texas.

Scott Eastwood was born in Framingham Massachusetts in 1978. He received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 2000 and received his MFA from University of Texas at Austin in 2011. He has been an active MASS member since 2008. Scott has completed residencies at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, PA. and Buoy Gallery, ME. Scott has shown nationally and in Austin at Okay Mountain, Mexic-Arte Museum, the Visual Arts Center, and MASS gallery. He is also the soul (yes soul) member of the one man two man band bass experience, AIR JORDAN. Scott is also part of Boozefox, an Austin based art collective. Despite moving a lot as a child he still feels he owes a lot of his upbringing to the great garden state, New Jersey. He is an artist.

Erin Gentry has 10 years of experience as an educator, both in the classroom and non-profit settings.  Most recently, she was the Manager of Education Programs for Arthouse at the Jones Center, where she designed and led the nationally recognized education department from 2008 to 2012. In 2010, she created the annual Advanced Young Artists program, pairing 10 exemplary underserved teens with Artist-Mentors for a yearlong collaborative mentorship that culminates in a professional exhibition of new artwork. Gentry holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies from St. Edward’s University, Austin, and a M.A. in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, where she focused on the intersections of gender, contemporary art, and urban space.  Gentry served as the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of PaperDolls, a non-profit online magazine for teen girls, 2007 – 2009. She currently serves as a member of MASS Gallery, and as an advisory board member for Co-Lab Projects.

Margit Raczkowski was born exactly five years to the day President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Nixon. Born and raised in Michigan, she now enjoys sunny days living and working in Austin, Texas. Raczkowski received a B.F.A. in Studio Art from Michigan State University in 2002. She has worked at museums and summer camps teaching art in Michigan, New York, and Maine to students ranging in age from 4 to 15 years and has worked for the Austin Independent School District as a Teacher Assistant for the past 4 years. Raczkowski is currently working on her Masters Degree and Certification in EC-6 Education at Texas State University.