The Bronx River Art Center (BRAC) opened its first gallery of 2025 to the public entitled, “Between Inspiration and Collecting: The Artist’s Cabinet,” on Thursday, Jan. 9. The gallery showcases various artists’ personal collections and reveals how they shape their creative vision.

 

Officials said the exhibit aims to challenge the notion that art collecting is for prestigious institutions, or for the ultra-wealthy by turning attention to the personal collections of 12 selected artists.

 

Alena Alekseeva, BRAC exhibitions coordinator and curator of this exhibit, said, “This show is not just a showcase of the artists’ work, it’s also a showcase of their personal collection. So, my goal was to show how artists can collect what they collect and how it influences the work that they do. So, I gathered 12 artists here to show their [process] and their collection pieces.”

 

Alekseeva said the 12 artists selected were chosen after receiving more than 70 applications. “My vision for the selection process was to see how artists understand what they do and how they relate to their art and their collection,” said Alekseeva.

 

The exhibit features the artists’ collections of Amy Talluto, Anna Fine Foer, Chris Baker, Katia Rozenberg, Jude Griebel, Tatiana Mesa Paján, Robbii Wessen, Sahar Alizadeh, Sheldon Campbell, Stephanie Germosen, Sor Elizabeth Ochoa-Zavala, and Ying Hung.

 

Paján described her personal collection as “notes taken from the streets of Havana, Cuba.” She said it consists of broken texts found across the city, including messages, letters, secrets, and more that show the life of the city through these texts.

 

The exhibit will be on display in the Bronx River Art Center’s main gallery until Saturday, Feb. 15, and is located at 1087 East Tremont Avenue in the West Farms section of the borough.