Curating a Career

How Maria Rentel and Rebecca Lipsitch Hosted Their First NYC Gallery Opening as Gallatin Juniors

by Danielle Jaculewicz

The work of a gallery curator is no easy task. One often needs years worth of connections and experience in the art world to even attempt to showcase their own curation in a gallery, especially one in New York. Yet, two Gallatin juniors, Rebecca Lipsitch and Maria Rentel, recently made their debut in this coveted industry of art appreciators through lots of hard work and a bit of well-deserved luck. I was able to sit down with them and listen to the story of how they brought an event they only dreamt of to life.  

What is the story of how you became connected with a gallery?

REBECCA: The gallery Cosmos is about two blocks from my house and I would always pass it on my walk to Tompkins Square or wherever I was going. And, one day, as the space was being opened, I decided to walk in and introduce myself to the owner. It was there that they invited me to their first opening, and the more I continued to stop by, I built a slight relationship with them myself. I was realizing that if I wanted to become a curator myself, creating my own opportunities was the best thing I could do as a student. I had nothing to lose, so I asked if they were looking for a miniature curation, and, amazingly, they said they were. I was given two weeks to get everything ready for the opening at Cozmos, and that is when I reached out to Maria as her co-curator.

When you were sourcing your artists, were they all NYU students?

MARIA: Because it was such a whirlwind with such a tight turn around, we wanted to source from the network of artists we already knew, inevitably being a lot of NYU students. It was very important to give opportunities to our talented artist friends in the same way that we were taking this opportunity for ourselves. We are all trying to break into industries that are kind of closed off in a way, so it was kind of intentional to showcase the art of other NYU students. Every step of the process was so lovely being able to work with our friends. 

REBECCA: I love being able to bring artists together to a shared community space, and it was so great to be able to do that through our openings.

Moving forward in the near future, do you want to continue to curate NYU student’s work or move to showcase art created outside the university?

REBECCA: I really love going to any and all art openings and find it super exciting. I like thinking about the world and history in a way that is not super narrative, as I learn best visually and through artists talking to me about their work. It would be very exciting to find artists outside of NYU; I am hoping to do studio visits in the future as I know that is how more “adulty” curators find their talent. I also think it would be interesting to do an open call and see who responds that way because I want it to feel very inclusive as we are new to our careers.

MARIA: Our main concern is keeping things local and it is very important to us to create a sense of connection. In the future, I agree with Rebecca that we are not closed off to only showcasing NYU students, but I do think it was very special to work with people we already know and love so much. It is very exciting to see where everything will take us in the future because there is so much talent within the span of one block.

After your first opening, what was one thing that surprised you? Was there anyone who attended, or the general energy? What was something you did not expect to turn out the way it did? When I attended there were so many people there it almost felt like a party.

MARIA: Everything about it was beyond our wildest dreams. The turnout and the excitement to attend was infectious because Rebecca and I were bouncing off the walls ourselves. I was surprised that Basquiat’s partner, Al Diaz, came.

REBECCA: He [Al Diaz] has been such an inspiration in getting into the art scene. I interned for him the spring of my senior year in high school, and it was completely remote, and I thought, “This is totally awesome and I’ll probably never see him again.” He’s a working artist in Brooklyn and I go to as many of his shows as I can and then sent him the invite. I didn’t think there was any shot of him coming.

MARIA: It was so wonderful that he was there, seeing as he has been in the industry for so long and is so established. The photographer, Jack Bridgeland, his coming was insane as he just did Kim’s GQ “Man of the Year” shoot. He loved the show, which was amazing. To have established artists that were there, equally as excited to attend, saw our potential, and gave us encouragement. That was really huge for me. 

REBECCA: It was so great to have so many friends of friends of friends at the opening. But we even had a few people from the Instagram account Thirsty Gallerina come which was super exciting for me to see that people who really care about art attend. We were told by an art conservationist that our opening felt “new, fresh, and exciting” which was so gratifying.

You do not know in ten or twenty years where all of the NYU artists and you yourselves are going to be. This opening symbolized to me a moment in not only your personal histories but art curation history. I do not know anyone else who is doing this.

REBECCA: I want to repeat that for almost all creative industries in New York I think you need to create your own opportunities. If you keep showing up to a space, show your face, and building relationships is so important. Hang out in the places you see yourself when you are older and you’ll get there.