GREENFIELD — The soon-to-open storefront at 365 Main St. will not be the first Art Deviation Gallery & Store that Greenfield resident JJ White has owned, but it will differ from the one that operated briefly in South Deerfield in 2020.

“I would say that the difference is we’re focused more on local artists and there is more of an eclectic variety of art,” White said. “There’ll be a few items for sale that are cool-looking and artsy, and there will be some serious pieces of art by established, well-known artists like Terry [Marashlian]. And then I would say some of my preferences will be the sort of conceptually driven art and art that makes a social or political statement, because that’s my interest.

“There’ll be a lot of items for sale that are probably accessible for most people’s budget. And I look forward to collaborating with other places in town,” White continued. “I’m close to the folks at The LAVA [Center]. They’ve hosted a few of my shows.”

White hopes to open his Art Deviation Gallery & Store in the first week of April and is still finalizing business hours. The space had housed The Imaginary Bookshop until the end of January.

Marashlian, who met White a few months ago, said the two have discussed hosting artist talks in the gallery. One of his pieces, “Life in the Oncoming Lane,” is already on site.

“[Marashlian] is a rock star in the art world,” he said. “It’s a really nice collaboration between the two of us so far.”

Work by Marashlian’s wife, Ann Powers, will also be featured in the gallery.

“Shell Shocked,” a transparent female mannequin White filled with empty shotgun shells as a statement about gun violence against women in the United States, is on display in the front window, as is a Yves Saint Laurent poster depicting a scantily clad woman and three showering men. The poster was displayed on the streets of Paris in 1998, when France hosted the FIFA World Cup. White’s previous gallery, in the Tibetan Plaza in South Deerfield, dabbled in erotica, which he described as a realm of art that explores sexuality and the nude form.

White said he’s heard positive feedback from people passing by so far.

“The general statements are like, ‘Wow, this makes Main Street super cool. This makes it visually appealing,’ even if they don’t know about it or understand it,” he said. “There’s a sense in which we’re getting people to think and enjoy some different kinds of presentations on Main Street.”

In the process of opening his gallery, White is looking forward to connecting residents with a wide array of art.

“I’m committed to Greenfield and to the area and making sure that we don’t have any more empty storefronts,” he said. “And this is such a community filled with a variety of artists and it’s really encouraging to see how much there is, and maybe it’s one of my goals … to make Greenfield a sort of early mecca of local art in the area.”

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.