Many New York art gallerists launch eponymous establishments, but Joseph A. Gross, owner of Simuvac Projects (99 Norman Avenue) in Greenpoint, named his venture with a nod to Don Delillo’s White Noise. A novel known for its postmodern themes, the gallery riffs off of Delillo’s post-“post” modernism and shines a new lens on emerging artists. Launched in March 2016, this relatively new gallery is a welcome addition to the Greenpoint art scene. Unlike Chelsea and the Lower East Side, Greenpoint is not known as the go-to art hub, but the neighborhood could use a bigger gallery presence. Considering the locals that live in Greenpoint, ranging from artists to artisans, building a better art community is vital. Simuvac Projects lends its unique voice and perspective to the mix.

Joseph A. Gross has a background in art history and studied art theory, and as a result his approach to artists and exhibitions is complex. Let’s dive deep—his thesis subject looks at the ways the Nazi regime used modern art as propaganda. In it, he focused on how propaganda is commonly used throughout history and in contemporary culture, glutted by media.

The exhibitions he hosts bring out a historical and theoretical perspective. Examining his previous show, “Cut Up,” Gross uses imagery from David Banash to describe the elements that make up the show. The history of collage traces the fundamental ironies of late capitalism, for while its cuts and juxtapositions rend and reshape older ideologies, it remains a mirror of the larger forces of economic fragmentation that are cutting up and restructuring a global world.

In his current show “Nonspecific Places,” Gross finds that Edmund Husserl’s dialogue helps shape the exhibition. “The arithmetical world is there for me only when and so long as I occupy the arithmetical standpoint. But the natural world, the world in the ordinary sense of the word, is constantly there for me, so long as I live naturally and look in its direction.”

Jonathan Cowan, “Color From a Form”, 2016, Acrylic and cotton thread on aida cloth, 16″x22″
Jonathan Cowan, “Color In a Form”, 2016, Acrylic and cotton thread on aida cloth, 28″x34″
Jonathan Cowan, 2016, Acrylic and cotton thread on aida cloth

Joe questions how the media shapes our views of the world and how technology affects our relationship with the world. “I choose artists who I think work with these questions in mind and hope that this comes through in the exhibitions. I also like to think of the gallery as a place where I allow artists some sense of freedom when it comes to exhibiting their work and I like to approach the organization of the shows as a collaborative effort,” he says.

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Rachael Gorchov, “Eight Thirty and Eight Forty Five”, 2016, Terra cotta and assorted glazes with pigment-based inkjet print on Enhanced Adhesive Synthetic Paper, Print, 18″x33 3/4″x44″

Simuvac projects will be hosting several new exhibitions in the upcoming months, including a performance and choreography by Christhian Diaz and Gabrielle D’Angelo. “We have been creating movement that is stationary and meant to be walked around, like a sculpture. It was initially a way for us to deal with dance in the space of an art gallery, usually a more contained space, and has since become part of our work as a series of sculptures,” Joe says. The performances will be held in July and September.

Follow Simuvac Projects for details on shows and dates:
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Simuvac Projects is located at 99 Norman Ave.

 

Photos by Sarvenaz

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