How editing propels mid-career artists to new heights

Lifetime friends Ashlyn Davis Burns and Shane Lavalette shared a passion for photography and other lens-based arts long before they founded their Houston-based gallery Assembly. In their previous professional roles—Burns at the helm of the Houston Center for Photography and Lavalette leading Light Work in Syracuse, New York—the duo found themselves on very similar paths, often exchanging ideas and aligning on what they believed the art world needed. to change These conversations, spanning nearly a decade, planted the seeds for Assembly, a collaborative venture born out of their mutual desire to help artists reach new heights.

As the pandemic unfolded in 2020, Burns and Lavalette’s careers were halted after temporary lockdown-induced closures at their respective institutions. However, the unexpected turn of events provided an opportunity to channel his years of ideas into a new business. Assembly launched online in March 2021. In May 2022, Assembly opened its doors at Houston’s 4411 Montrose Building, a space that houses five other galleries. In its first year, the gallery held online viewings of artists including Fumi Ishino and Alinka Echeverría.

Burns and Lavalette approached Assembly with the ambition to create a more equitable art world. “We’re very interested in new models for galleries and working with artists expansively, so we developed this concept of working holistically with artists,” Lavalette said. Rather than simply providing an exhibition space, Assembly assists its artists with grant applications, book launches, networking opportunities, financial advice and more.

In part, the artist gallery model was conceived from the founders’ experiences as nonprofit directors. “We were really able to leverage our contacts and relationships that we had in the nonprofit space and translate them here through matching artists to the right funders for their projects,” Burns said. “I think some galleries do this behind the scenes, but it’s not a real focus because it’s not the bread and butter income. But we think if the artist is successful, then we’re going to be successful.”

At first, Assembly debuted as an exclusively lens-based gallery (encompassing photography, mixed media, and video art), featuring artists such as Cristina Velásquez and David Alekhuogie. However, as Burns and Lavalette’s vision for the gallery evolved, they began to embrace a wider spectrum of artistic mediums. This expansion reflects the gallery’s commitment to fostering a rich dialogue between its artists and the art world in general.

Assembly opened its first painting exhibit last November, Jason Stopa’s “DIY Paradise,” on view through February 24, 2024. The solo show features a collection of vibrant large-scale paintings, sculptural works and works on paper by Stopa that ignite. conversations about spatial restrictions and the concept of utopia. But above all, the exhibition inaugurates a new era for assembly, where painting and sculpture are a central component of the gallery’s mission.

“The artists we work with who are lens-based are already creating work that dialogues with the wider contemporary art world,” Lavalette said, adding that her artists tend to be multidisciplinary and work in multiple media. “For us, it was a natural transition because we’re more excited about the fringe of photography and we’re excited about artists exploring other mediums.”

The gallery is also thoughtful about the careers of the artists it seeks. “A lot of the artists we work with are at that mid-career point where they may have had institutional success in one part of the world but not in another,” Lavette said. “They are very ripe for museums to pay attention to their work. They are really solid investments for collectors who are interested in supporting a great artist making important contributions, but understanding that they are on an exciting trajectory.”