Tucked away on a quiet, tree-lined, residential street in Jersey City, Curious Matter Gallery is a bit of a curiosity itself. The small gallery is located in the foyer of one of the many refurbished brownstones in this quiet neighborhood, separated, but not too far away from the bustling downtown area.
That isolation is one of the things that gives the gallery a unique voice in the city’s arts scene, something that co-curator Raymond Mingst said was lacking when all of the city’s creative forces were concentrated in the warehouse district.
“There was a perception that the warehouse district was the hub of art in Jersey City,” Mingst said. “It seemed that when 111 was around [the 111 First Street building where many artists had studios], everything was very 111-centric. Some could see that as good, some could see that as bad.”
While he said that the demise of the building was awful, and that he was very disappointed with its destruction, there was something positive that came out of the situation:
“More individual voices can be heard,” Mingst said.
Making a new voice heard
Mingst said that what makes places like Gallery 58, Residue, and his own gallery stand out is the fact that they are artist-run galleries. “They’re unique voices and they show interesting work,” he said.
After six years of living and working as artists in Jersey City, Mingst, originally from Bergen county, along with co-curator Arthur Bruso, who is originally from Albany, decided they wanted to dive deeper into the artistic dialogue that had been going on in town.
Earlier this year, the two artists, who have long been a fixture on the JC Artists Studio Tour, chose to open up a small gallery in the same building where they have their studios.
“We decided to be part of the conversation that is going on in Jersey City,” said Mingst.
Sacred spaces
“Into the Magic Space,” an exhibition of hand-colored photographs by Bruso, is one of the gallery’s first exhibits. On display are reprints and re-examined works that explore anomalies inspired by nontraditional use of photography.
Bruso, who has an M.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, uses techniques such as double exposure to convey the feeling of movement in and out of different spaces and places.
“It’s the notion of going to a space where you are transported in a way,” he said, describing the exhibit’s theme. The black-and-white photographs in the work “Entropic Inertia” are an example of that notion. Two vertical photos displayed next to each other show the inside of a dilapidated shed, and the third shows the outside, of a crumbling wall, surrounded by lush greenery.
“You are both inside and outside,” Bruso said.
He said that the exhibit is also influenced by the laws of physics and the theories of astronomy, as well as the processes of the universe. For both of the artists, the gallery is also a sort of sacred space that is influenced by the laws of the universe.
“We use the gallery as part of our process,” said Mingst.
Beginning and end
On the outside, the only thing that distinguishes the space from the other row houses on the block is a small sign with a drawing of the Roman god Saturn.
“Saturn is our mascot,” Mingst said. Bruso explained that they liked in cyclical nature of his significance. “He has an aspect of destruction and rebirth. That’s why we liked him, because he is beginning and end at the same time.”
Bruso and Mingst plan on further exploring the theme of beginning and end with their next exhibit, which Bruso said will follow the theme, “Apparition.” Bruso said he would like to see how he and other artists interpret the supernatural through their work.
Arthur Bruso’s exhibit, “Into the Magic Space,” is on display at Curious Matter Art Gallery, 272 Fifth St., Jersey City, Jersey City, through June 30. The gallery is open on Sundays from 12 to 3 p.m., and by appointment. For more information on present or upcoming exhibits, call 201-659-5771, or email curiousmatter@comcast.net.