Fire destroys 'En Masse' exhibition at art studios

Group of people standing and talking in front of the En Masse exhibition title wall during the show’s opening. — The ‘En Masse’ title wall, before the fire and afterward, capturing the exhibition’s brief life and sudden loss. (Courtesy of Maurice Evans)

Soot-darkened En Masse exhibition title wall at South River Art Studios, with smoke damage visible across the gallery surface. — The ‘En Masse’ title wall, before the fire and afterward, capturing the exhibition’s brief life and sudden loss. (Courtesy of Maurice Evans)

When a fire swept through South River Art Studios on Nov. 12, the immediate focus fell on the 25 to 30 studio artists who lost tools, equipment, years of work, and the spaces they relied on to make a living. But inside the main building that morning was something else: “En Masse,” a group exhibition of 21 regional printmakers, installed just 11 days earlier in the Gogo Gallery.

According to curator Chloe Alexander, the fire and the efforts to extinguish it left “over 50 works of art lost or damaged.” Though the show was scheduled to remain on view through Dec. 6, soot, smoke, and water rendered nearly every piece unsalvageable.

“Even the works that weren’t burned are damaged because of water damage, the chemicals, [and] smoke,” said artist Maurice Evans, who had two pieces in the show. “Some of those pieces may even look okay, but I promise you they’re not. They’re on paper.”

A regional printmaking moment cut short

“En Masse” opened Nov. 1 and coincided with the BIG INK print event that weekend, a gathering that brought printmakers from across the region to Atlanta. Artist Grace Kisa, who also had two works in the show, described it as “a collective effort celebrating 21 printmaking artists.”

Alexander said “En Masse” was built around Atlanta’s expansive printmaking community and its growing visibility. “Atlanta has a large community of printmakers, but printmaking isn’t always a part of the discourse when talking about Atlanta’s art scene as a whole,” she said. She selected artists who were “exploring print in a way that pushes the boundaries of the medium,” often incorporating mixed media, collage, or sculptural elements.

A framed woodcut portrait of a woman in Victorian-era clothing and a feathered hat, carved into plywood with bold black lines. Pink circular shapes punctuate the background, creating a contrast between the figure and the natural wood grain. — Prints by Jamaal Barber, Grace Kisa, and Maurice Evans from the “En Masse” exhibition at South River Art Studios now lost to the Nov. 12 fire that damaged the gallery and ended the show prematurely. (Images courtesy of the artists)

A black-and-white woodcut print depicting three figures working in tall grass, one raising a long-handled tool overhead. The scene is rendered in dynamic carved lines that radiate across the background, emphasizing movement and labor. — Prints by Jamaal Barber, Grace Kisa, and Maurice Evans from the “En Masse” exhibition at South River Art Studios now lost to the Nov. 12 fire that damaged the gallery and ended the show prematurely. (Images courtesy of the artists)

The losses were immediate and devastating. “There is a misconception that printmaking is all about making duplicates, but much of the work included in the show was unique and cannot be replicated,” Alexander explained. Even pieces that appeared outwardly intact could not be saved: “Soot and smoke do a lot of damage to artwork,” she said.

Evans said Alexander also carried a difficult burden in the aftermath. “She had to call people and say, ‘Hey, your work is gone,’” he said.

“There is a misconception that printmaking is all about making duplicates, but much of the work included in the show was unique and cannot be replicated.”
‘En masse’ curator chloe Alexander

The economics behind the art

For independent artists, a lost artwork is more than a single sale. Each piece represents materials, framing, transport, installation, and time. “There’s a lot of expense to put on a show,” Evans said. “The artist is already invested.”

Printmaker Jamaal Barber, who also had work in the exhibition, said the financial ripple effects are far larger than most people realize. “It’s a loss, but in the loss of terms of things on the spectrum,” he said. “I got like five [shows] going, and if work for one of the shows burns or gets destroyed, the next show is affected. So that kinda has a cascade.”

Barber estimated that losing his woodblocks meant “$10,000 is off the table for me. It’s not even an option anymore.” He explained the economic chain in simple terms: “Imagine being a used car salesperson — you only get paid for the cars people buy, but you also gotta make the cars.”

He noted that other artists connected to South River experienced parallel setbacks. “Jess [Self]… was getting ready for a show at a Marietta museum… and all her stuff is damaged. That’s the entire show that she’d been working on for months.”

Studio & exhibiting artists affected

Artists emphasized that the fire’s impact should not be viewed as two competing tragedies. Studio tenants lost workspaces, tools, and machinery essential to their practice. “En Masse” artists lost finished works, framing, and months of preparation. The losses, they said, compound one another.

Barber described the scale of the impact as “a whole economy getting wiped out.”

Alexander echoed that the crisis is shared. “It has been amazing to see the outpouring of support for all the artists who have experienced the sudden loss of their practices and livelihoods,” she said, adding that South River filled a vital gap: “Anyone who has looked for a studio in the city knows that there is a severe shortage of affordable spaces available.”

Where support is needed now

Both Alexander and Evans encouraged Atlantans to collect and engage with the work of impacted artists’ work artists as a means of support. Barber emphasized the need for continued visibility for artist communities across the city.

Several fundraisers have been launched to support both studio tenants and exhibiting artists.

The fire revealed how deeply intertwined Atlanta’s artist communities are. Studio tenants face the long road of replacing tools and rebuilding their practices, while the printmakers of “”En Masse”” confront the loss of dozens of works, months of labor, and future opportunities tied to the exhibition.

Together, their experiences offer a fuller picture of what was lost — and what it will take for the broader arts community to help them rebuild.