If you’ve been staring at your {bare} walls during this quarantine you’re not alone. With so much time being spent at home, it’s normal to start reconsidering your decor and artwork. Luckily, local art gallery Deep Space Gallery {located at 77 Cornelison Avenue, Jersey City} has taken their current art show and moved it to be online in an effort to support curated artists and spread the therapeutic benefits of art. In fact, one of their most recent collectors purchased a painting by Ekaterina Popova titled “Reading in Bed,” as a memento of how she will have spent the majority of her days during these most surreal times. Plus, Deep Space’s extended online show features small works by all of the artists in the current show {a 12 woman group show in honor of Women’s History Month} that are very affordable + easily fit into small apartments with minimal wall space. Here’s a virtual look inside Deep Space Gallery.
About Deep Space
Deep Space is a contemporary art gallery exhibiting local + international emerging artists who have a strong vision and cutting-edge aesthetic. Along with traditional art forms, Deep Space showcases non-traditional art, from outsider and street art to mixed media and fiber arts. They feature artists who show exceptional abilities and who are not necessarily given a platform to display their work. They are committed to showing artists who are otherwise not getting the attention that their work warrants.
This urban art gallery also serves as a hub for culture and creativity in an otherwise underserved area of Jersey City in Bergen-Lafayette. Co-owners Jenna Geiger and Keith VanPelt aim to have artwork at affordable price points in their monthly exhibits so that individuals across social strata can become collectors of art. They love that a majority of their collectors are first-time art buyers.
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The Goal of Deep Space
Co-owner Jenna Geiger and Keith VanPelt founded Deep Space back in 2016. Keith himself is a painter, stained glass artist, and muralist, and has been curating pop-up exhibitions in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia for two decades, so opening up a gallery of his own felt like a natural evolution. Partnering with Jenna, who left her professional life as a family nurse practitioner {and birth doula} and as a research scientist and PhD candidate, helped solidify the commitment to what both of them knew would be a tough path. Both are passionate about creative expression and the community and culture that forms around it and they both use their skills from various parts of their lives to make Deep Space a success.
Jenna and Keith believe that art appreciation and collecting should be an interactive experience with the artists since each piece eventually becomes a meaningful fixture in the collector’s home. Jenna explains, “People love meeting the creator of works they purchase, it brings even more meaning to this beautiful object that is now going to be a long-term fixture in their lives and enjoyed for years to come, perhaps even passed on through generations.” Alongside their monthly shows when the gallery is open, Deep Space also features artist talks, workshops, live podcasts, children’s activities, and pop-up markets.
With in-person activities currently limited, the gallery has continued their daily online presence on Instagram and in their Instagram stories, and are currently planning some Instagram live events that will be posted on their Instagram and Facebook pages once the scheduling logistics are worked out with their exhibiting artists. Currently, they’ve had to rearrange their spring show calendar and will possibly have to do the same for their summer lineup. All of their artists are in full support of adjusting in whatever ways are needed to keep everybody safe and hopefully keep themselves and the gallery afloat in challenging times.
Current Exhibitions
Due to the quarantine, Deep Space has extended its current all-woman group exhibition {which originally opened on the eve of International Women’s Day, March 7th}, “RETURN OF THE MOTHERSHIP,” featuring 12 outstanding artists.
Also in response to the pandemic, they have added a “sister show” as an addendum to the main show: “RETURN OF THE MOTHERSHIP // Small Works Edition,” which includes small and affordable works by all of the artists in the show in order to facilitate art sales in support of their artists and to help keep their small business afloat. Small works easily fit into apartments with minimal wall space and are less intimidating to purchase, especially for first-time collectors.
Deep Space prides itself on being a gallery where many people have made their very first art purchase, transforming many people into original art collectors. This is a very important key to their mission as a gallery —helping people see that art is for everybody and anyone and everyone can become a collector. They are committed to including affordable works in every exhibition they present.
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How You Can Help
Shopping for art is a great way to support Deep Space Gallery. You can peruse through its current all-woman group show and its sister show of small works on their Artsy profile here. You can also purchase a Deep Space t-shirt {$20} or tote {$15}, designed and hand screen printed by gallery co-owner Keith VanPelt {see Deep Space’s Instagram stories or send them an email to view the different styles of tees and totes that are available}. Tees and totes can be shipped to you or picked up from the gallery — they have mastered contactless pick-up {they ask that you, too, wear a mask and gloves when stopping by to pick up your new merchandise}.
The gallery is also offering gift certificates in a denomination of your choosing, that they can send virtually or through the mail to the recipient so that you can give the gift art while allowing the recipient to choose a piece for themselves, as one’s taste in art is a very personal thing.
This is a great way to support the gallery and its artists and it’s a wonderful gift to give someone you care about to beautify and enrich their space while we spend all of this time indoors. All purchases can be made online via Venmo or PayPal or with a credit card over the phone. Contact the gallery at deepspacejc@gmail.com, via direct message on Instagram @deepspacejc, or message them on Facebook at Deep Space Gallery.
Have you virtually explored Deep Space yet? Let us know in the comments!
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