About Us
Mortal Machine Gallery | 940 & 938 Royal Street | French Quarter | New Orleans, LA
Mortal Machine Gallery
Mortal Machine is a contemporary art gallery based in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, operating from two adjacent spaces at 940 & 938 Royal Street.
Founded and curated by artist Gabriel Shaffer, Mortal Machine presents dynamic exhibitions and projects featuring artists working at the intersection of Contemporary Folk, Pop Surrealism, Lowbrow, Outsider, New Contemporary, Dark Art, Erotica, and Street Art. Our program emphasizes artists whose work is driven by strong personal vision, technical mastery, and cultural relevance, with a focus on both mid-career and emerging voices.
Mortal Machine was built as more than a traditional white-cube gallery. It functions as a living platform, one that values experimentation, storytelling, and community alongside exhibitions and sales. We prioritize long-term relationships with artists and collectors while creating meaningful dialogue between the work on our walls, the city of New Orleans, and a global audience.
In addition to exhibitions, Mortal Machine produces publications, special projects, artist residencies, and art fair presentations throughout the United States and abroad. Our expanded footprint allows us to host multiple exhibitions simultaneously while maintaining a dedicated space for available works, editions, books, and objects.
At its core, Mortal Machine exists to champion artists we believe in and to create experiences that feel alive, rooted in place, rich in narrative, and unafraid to evolve.
Gabriel Shaffer
Gabriel Shaffer lives and works in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans, where he owns and curates Mortal Machine Gallery on Royal Street. The son of renowned folk and visionary artist Cher Shaffer, Shaffer was immersed in the art world from an early age, assisting at rural folk art festivals and learning directly from pioneering figures in the genre.
Following a sold-out debut at the Outsider Art Fair in 2005, Shaffer exhibited his work nationally and internationally and appeared in publications including Raw Vision, Art Papers, Art News, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Architectural Digest, Boing Boing, and Juxtapoz. His practice has also included producing murals, installations, and illustrations for corporations, restaurants, and museums such as Facebook, BMW, Pandora, Sierra Nevada, PBR, SECCA, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Asheville Museum of Art.
Shaffer began curating exhibitions in 2006 and spent four years curating for Red Truck Gallery before founding Mortal Machine Gallery. He has curated numerous special projects and directed booths at major art fairs, including SCOPE Miami, Basel, and the LA Art Show. He was also a contributing writer to Juxtapoz Magazine and is recognized as one of the South’s leading salon-style curators, specializing in contemporary folk and outsider art, pop surrealism, lowbrow, street art, and new contemporary work, with a strong focus on mid-career and emerging artists.
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