This column has no witty intro except to say that I wanted to profile a cool girl with rad style doing amazing things with talented people. That girl’s name is Rachael Yaeger. Rachael co-owns Greenpoint’s Human NYC gallery with florist and clothing designer Jill Borenstein. They met at Flagler College and have been collaborating on projects ever since.
“I have always been creative, from making ceramics to writing and painting,” says Rachael. “I’ve learned that working with people is my forte — not necessarily being the creator of the art. With Human NYC, I can jump around and be a part of so much. It’s genuinely fulfilling.”
What’s fulfilling her now? A show curated by women, featuring women. A Babe Show, if you will, featuring four female artists with four very different styles. On the eve of the show’s opening, I caught up with Yaeger to learn more about the ladies, the BK art scene and how she accidentally fits in to it all.
Julie Bensman: How did you find/curate the artists you’ll be featuring?
Rachael Yaeger: Utilizing people and friends, brainstorming and hitting people up — someone always recommends someone they know and the dots connect. You know the saying, “Your network is your net worth”? It’s really ringing true…I think both Jill and I are still in shock that we have a physical space and platform to do this. In the future, we want to do retail, host shows, collaborations, start a magazine, who knows?
JB: Who is one of your favorite featured artists?
RY: I am closest with Amy Woodside. She has amazing energy, is very hardworking, down-to-earth, optimistic and encouraging. I think Meryl Smith is pretty rad — her sculptural work is unlike anything I’ve ever seen (woodland creatures, just incredible!). Particularly for The Babe Show, Alice Lancaster is contributing a leather jacket with a portrait of John Waters on it, which is pretty cool.
JB: How have you seen the NYC female art scene change/develop over the last couple years?
RY: I don’t want to claim that I know everything about the art scene, but what I do know comes from the artists with whom I meet and speak. That being said, I felt like I hadn’t seen or attended a female group show before. Jill and I were like, “A Babe Show would be epic!”
JB: How does fashion/style influence what you do and with whom you work?
RY: Recent trips to London and Munich reminded me of the power of street style. With the Internet being most of our main influencer, it was refreshing to have the time to look around and remember that personal style is very much alive. I love graffiti and the skateboard scene…Fashion doesn’t play hugely into The Babe Show, as each Babe is unique, but her own sense of style definitely comes through.
JB: How would you describe your own sense of style?
RY: I like to wear things with an affiliation, representing family, friends or things that have been gifts. You can find me in tops from Saturdays NYC, a Gin Lane tee, my leather cap from Oak, a cashmere Everlane sweater or my LOLA hat most any day of the week. I have a few vintage Pendelton shirts from my Grandfather that I can’t wait to pull out of my closet this fall. As for local Brooklyn shopping, I am in love with Greenpoint’s Wolves Within and Williamsburg’s Bird — both are the equivalent of fffound.com for me. In a perfect world, I’d be in Isabel Marant everyday or a Jil Sander/Kenzo mix.
JB: So what’s next?
RY: After The Babe Show (October 3-20), we’re curating a group show with our friend Jayme to finish out the month. It’s going to be called Greetings From Hell and is all about the Internet. After that, I would love to work with my friend Zak Bush or Mark Gonzales…I think collaborating with friends is the best. Matt Jones is awesome (our grandparents are friends) and I would love to talk him into showing at the gallery. I think a February show with Austyn Weiner would be rad, too.
Catch Babe Show through October 20, 2013 at Human NYC, 110 Meserole Ave., Brooklyn.
