[About]

Mason Murer Fine Art was opened in May of 2004 by gallery owner Mark Mason Karelson and art collector Glenn Murer. The two businessmen had been developing a relationship over the years: Karelson owned The Modern Primitive Gallery in Atlanta’s Morningside neighborhood, and Murer, a developer and entrepreneur, was a frequent customer.

At Modern Primitive, the focus had long been on folk and outsider art, but the two men shared an interest in emerging artists. Karelson had begun showing more contemporary work, broadening the scope of his roster, and Murer was collecting the works of local talent. They frequently discussed launching a new gallery space that would allow for a wide range of discipline and content, from the commercial to the experimental, and the opportunity came when one of Glenn Murer’s large commercial properties became available.

The 24,000 square foot space on Armour Drive was a bit off the beaten path, but it was convenient to the concentration of interior design businesses in the area, and large enough to accommodate several galleries, or possibly even a mix of exhibition spaces, artist studios, and food service. Karelson and Murer met with architect Amy Landesberg to discuss the possibilities. Eventually, it became clear that the only way to proceed was to create a single massive gallery space unlike anything else in the Southeast. The challenge then became how to best convert the unstructured industrial space into a venue that allowed for the display of painting, sculpture, and photography without overwhelming the viewer.

Landesberg decided that the large uninterrupted interior of the building needed to be subdivided into small, intimate spaces that would allow for the exhibition of small format works as well as larger paintings, sculpture, and installation pieces. Instead of carving the space into a warren of rooms and hallways, the final design called for a series of freestanding pods, each creating a semi-enclosed gallery within the gallery. These white roofless structures vary in size, shape, and height, creating the illusion of a minimalist walled city arranged around a central plaza, which constitutes the main gallery. This allows for the staging of multiple shows at the same time. The pods also feature carefully aligned portals, creating intriguing lines of sight, allowing a viewer in the main gallery a glimpse of several exhibits simultaneously.

Mason Murer Fine Art has become an art and special event destination, hosting several exhibitions a year and showcasing a wide range of work from the Southeast and around the world. Its unique interior has made the gallery an in-demand venue for corporate parties, non-profit fundraisers, and cultural events. The gallery business has also become a platform for the launching of other cultural and non-profit enterprises. Mason Murer Fine Art is also a part of the Atlanta Gallery Association.

In the summer of 2006, Mark Karelson launched Embrace: The Fine Art Fair of the National Black Arts Festival. Created as a showcase for fine art from the African Diaspora during the citywide NBAF, the fair is now an annual event with galleries from around the United States and the world coming to show and sell their work. The large, multi-exhibitor event takes full advantage of Mason Murer Fine Art’s unique interior layout. The fair continues to partner with the NBAF to market to a wide audience and hold special panel discussions and other events.