(Hello again to Maya from Cincinnati, who is trying out for a spot on AT:Chicago team. Enjoy the tour she put together - comments are welcome!)
Name: Mason
Location: Brighton, Cincinnati, OH
Rent or own: in the process of buying
Size: gallery: 1000 sq. feet, loft: 1000 sq. feet
Lived in: 3 years
>> Enter Slideshow
Mason is an artist, art collector, and gallery owner who lives above Synthetica, his gallery in the Brighton area of Cincinnati. Like his neighborhood, Mason's home is a bit rough around the edges and constantly evolving, deftly combining vintage with new, scavenged with hand-crafted. We especially love the "custom window treatments" made of locally scavenged windows.
Gallery receptions often spill out into the shared courtyard and upstairs loft, blurring the line between public and private, and allowing Mason's personal art collection to mix with the rotating exhibits he presents downstairs. Mason rehabbed the gallery and loft himself and, in the process, created both a high-profile local art space and a comfortable home that is bold and masculine, and the ideal setting for his growing art collection.
>> Enter Slideshow
Style: Urban Contemporary
Inspiration: To me my home is much like the art that I work on. I live within an environment that I have created and collected. It can be experienced as art within itself, while displaying an edgy collection of contemporary art.
Favorite Element: The level of raw design and the setting for displaying a diverse art collection in so many areas of the space.
Biggest Challenge: Removing the bar that once existed in the current gallery area. Then the obvious -- creating a gallery space with limited resources.
What Friends Say: I receive two comments in regards to this space. "Do you live here?!?" Or, "I have never been in a place like this. This is not what I was expecting."
Biggest Embarrassment: It's hard to say because many of the things that I attempt to hide from the public are also what gives this place a certain level of, let's say, urban charm. We will go with the on-going evolving state, or the lack of storage area.
Proudest DIY: The gallery and the kitchen; really, too many to pinpoint.
Biggest Indulgence: To reply to this correctly, I can only say -- the art collection.
Best Advice: You do not have to have a designer's budget to create a compelling space that speaks to you. Many items that are discarded as junk can be re-used in a manner that gives your place an edge that can not be found in stores. Much of the furniture that I enjoy is one-of-a-kind, fabricated by artists and purchased for prices that are often less than manufactured furniture that holds little financial value once it leaves the showroom.
Dream Source: If I had unlimited resources, my home and gallery would evolve into a hybrid of Artempo in Venice and the Tate Modern in London.
Resources: Art galleries, including my own, Design Within Reach, Abode in Covington, KY, various artists.
>> Enter Slideshow
Thanks, Mason!
-Maya
Very cool and eclectic. It shows a lot of personality and there is so much to look at. Probably not to everyone's taste, but I like it. Art should be lived with and not just added to a space as an afterthought.
view dmstudio's profile
Cool loft. I was sure you lived in Pilsen, until I saw that you're actually in Cincinnati.
view Rebecca's profile
Who is the artist who painted the paintings in the picture at the very top of this page (the ones with the trees)? Those are gorgeous!
view gollygee's profile
Are you all getting the slide show??? Because I'm still not. Is it me??????
view nazrd's profile
Nope...no slideshow...you must click click click
view danze's profile
world's biggest buttplug on the coffee table?
view jenny!'s profile
I didn't notice the buttplug, I was so preoccupied with the penis tapers on the mantle.
view lemonader's profile
I don't know about the buttplug, but those are indeed penises in the kitchen. I decided to feature Mason's home because the decor is so much about his art collection, and much of that isn't safe, pretty art. It's not to everyone's taste [not to my personal taste, anyway], but I really love seeing a home that reflects its owner to such an extent. Thanks for your comments, everyone!
view visualingual's profile
Set Decoration 101, B-
view quiltmaster's profile
I really like this place. The colors are so bold and vibrant, and they complement the art well. It feels like the home of a high-energy artist, and it sounds like he is. I love that there are so many mis-matched objects, furniture, art pieces that look like furniture, and art, and that all of it is given the same status, rather than relegating the art to some "special" place in a room. Those "window" window treatments crack me up, too. This home is a bit of a departure for AT, but there are some good lessons to be learned from it!
view ClaireW's profile
As my email box is quickly filling with comments regarding the article, I would like say it’s great to see so many comments already on Maya’s article. I see the first comment mentions the Enchanted Forest by Todd Henderson. I see a comment calling Inertia a butt plug. It is a glass sculpture cast, blown a combination of graphite and glass. That piece was created by a brilliant artist Eric Dalberg. His work also includes the glass vessels and book. The Black Cocks, can I say that? They are a few pieces that I either posses or exhibit by international artist The AK-47 Aaron Kent. His work becomes more and more valuable with each and everyday. www.aaronkent.org You are also viewing works by Jim Crosser, Jeff Smith, Arland Jackson, Mark Gergern, Greg Clem, Lilly Mulberry, V.Mann, Rhonda Gushee, Steven Lince, Christopher Hoeting, Sara Bellemy and so many more. The gallery created by Jonathan Boys, Bekka Sage and myself. Your comments are fantastic thank for taking the time to see this.
view masonpaul's profile
"Brighton" my arse. This is the West End, gentrifier.
view luckypeach's profile
What are the spikey things on the chair? Is that more art, or is it meant to be sat on?
I prefer pretty and safe, but this looks perfect for its owner.
view jooly's profile
Fantastic space, Mason. I love that you put yourself wholeheartedly into its design and decoration. The artwork is amazing and thought-provoking. Bravo!
view darcidoodle's profile
Oh my god, he lives near Dawn Davenport and Aunt Ida!
view dn's profile
Jooly, one of the kitchen chairs and the chair in the living room by the window are both covered with nails. So, I suppose you could attempt to sit in one, but maybe you'd prefer not to! In Mason's home, it's not always clear whether something is art or not. In fact, the pods on the stairs leading to his bedroom look like some stuff that's been brushed aside, but they're actually cast sculpture.
view visualingual's profile
Can I buy those tree paintings somewhere or are they one of a kind? They are fabulous! Other than that kudos for having a place with some character.
view bemyescape's profile
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
LOVE THE TREE PAINTINGS!! The movements are so fluid and smooth! I love it.
The sofa looks so comfy and I love the bedspread.
Thanks for doing 'your thing' to the space.
I would love to be able to afford such a place to totally turn into a piece of myself! LOVE IT!!
view Sleek's profile