Laura Phipps just stepped into one of the art world's most interesting jobs. After nearly two decades at the Whitney Museum—where she rose from intern to associate curator—she's now directing the Gochman Family Collection, a New York-based private collection built almost entirely around contemporary Indigenous artists.
It's a meaningful shift. The collection, which holds 750 works and keeps growing, has operated quietly for years through spaces on the Upper East Side and in West Palm Beach. But in fall 2026, it's opening a 10,000-square-foot exhibition space in Katonah, New York—a Westchester town about an hour from Manhattan by train. That's where Phipps's real work begins.
More than walls and paintings
This isn't just a gallery. The Katonah space will include two artist apartments, studio space, and rooms designed for readings and performances. The idea is to treat the collection as what Rachel Martin, the GFC's creative director, calls "a living, responsive ecosystem"—one that serves artists as much as it serves visitors.
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Start Your News DetoxPhipps gets it. "It will be nice to be able to give artists a place to stay near the city, that will also have some separation from the city, if that's what their practice needs at the time," she said. "How we use the space will evolve as we learn what artists need and want."
She's already thinking about which artists to highlight. Ishi Glinsky, who plays with the boundaries of traditional Native materials in unexpected ways. Saif Azzuz, whose sculpture and painting work will show at Storm King this summer. And blanket weavers Lily Hope and Ursala Hudson, who are redefining what weaving and storytelling can be.
The move from the Whitney's sprawling curatorial team to leading a smaller operation is deliberate. Phipps sees it as a chance to trust her own instincts more. "At the Whitney, I had all these incredibly brilliant colleagues to draw on, which is amazing, but it can also become a crutch to your own decision-making," she reflected. "I'm looking forward to pushing myself and the smaller team here."
She replaces Zach Feuer, who founded Forge Project with Becky Gochman in 2021 and now serves as one of five curatorial consultants. The timing matters: as museums nationwide are reckoning with how they center Indigenous artists, a collection built around that work—and now opening a dedicated public space—feels like it's arriving at exactly the right moment.
