{"id":6440,"date":"2025-05-12T16:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/12\/ingrid-lundgren-and-marissa-dembkoskis-slip-house-launched-may-9\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T16:25:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:25:17","slug":"ingrid-lundgren-and-marissa-dembkoskis-slip-house-launched-may-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/12\/ingrid-lundgren-and-marissa-dembkoskis-slip-house-launched-may-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Ingrid Lundgren and Marissa Dembkoski\u2019s Slip House Launched May 9"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Slip House\u2019s co-founders, Ingrid Lundgren and Marissa Dembkoski. Photo: Taylor Augustine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the tariff turmoil and a still sluggish art market, a new wave of galleries is debuting in New York this May during art week. Among them, Slip House stands out\u2014not just for its name or location, but for the way both are mirrored in its model and mission. Co-founders Ingrid Lundgren<\/a> and Marissa Dembkoski<\/a> want to revive the pioneering spirit of the Coenties Slip artists\u2014Agnes Martin, Ellsworth Kelly and James Rosenquist, among others\u2014who once transformed the industrial East River Old Slip waterfront into a tight-knit creative enclave, running parallel to the rise of the downtown loft scene. With what they intend to be a similarly dynamic platform, Lundgren and Dembkoski aim to challenge the traditional gallery space and model by creating a welcoming, flexible domestic environment rooted in a strong sense of historical continuity.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have been wanting to find a place that was entrenched in history,\u201d Dembkoski told Observer ahead of the opening, during the final stages of the building\u2019s renovation. \u201cWhen we first came across the building, there wasn\u2019t much information, but this was the first and the last space we saw.\u201d As soon as the duo walked in, they immediately sensed there must be a rich story tied to the structure and began digging into its past. The location turned out to have been the longtime studio and home of Charles Kritsky<\/a>, a designer with deep roots in the 1980s downtown art scene. A close friend of Jean-Michel Basquiat<\/a>, Kritsky created designs for Madonna<\/a>, Billy Idol<\/a> and Carolina Herrera<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With a boutique and studio on the ground floor and his apartment above, Kritsky hosted a rotating cast of downtown creatives, making the space as much a salon as it was a home. \u201cWe ended up learning how he was a really giving person\u2014he would just invite everyone into his home,\u201d Dembkoski said. \u201cThere was really a community around this space.\u201d For Dembkoski and Lundgren, the building\u2019s layered past\u2014as carriage house, artist residence, and communal gathering point\u2014is a foundation. \u201cWe see ourselves as stewards of this special space,\u201d Lundgren added, underscoring their commitment to fostering an environment as generous and artist-responsive as its history suggests.<\/p>\n

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An installation view of \u201cAs if a line,\u201d Slip House\u2019s inaugural show. Photo: Software Studios<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dembkoski and Lundgren were also inspired by Isabella Stewart Gardner<\/a> and her radical approach to opening her home and collection, first as a residency, then as a museum. \u201cThis idea of cultivating a community, coming together over meals and cultural exchanges, and really existing and living with the artwork truly inspired us,\u201d Dembkoski said, noting how the traditional commercial format rarely creates space today to stay, linger, have a cup of tea and engage in more meaningful exchange and conversation.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: From Storage to Spotlight \u2013 How D.C.\u2019s National Gallery Is Redefining Access to Art <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The founders\u2019 decision to preserve domestic touches\u2014such as a working fireplace and kitchen on the second floor\u2014has been key to maintaining this community-oriented profile, encouraging slower, more intimate encounters with art. The third floor, meanwhile, has been envisioned as a live\/work space, with plans for a rotating artist residency later in the gallery\u2019s life. \u201cThe artist residency is part of our longer-term vision: we plan to house artists that we\u2019re showing or artists who need to come into New York,\u201d Dembkoski said. For the first year, she will reside onsite, enabling an even more flexible model for how they interact with both visitors and artists.<\/p>\n

Both Ingrid Lundgren and Marissa Dembkoski bring years of experience in the art world to this new venture\u2014Lundgren from the gallery business, Dembkoski from the museum sector. Dembkoski has worked across various institutional settings, contributing to marketing and partnerships for the Harvard Art Museums, the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Monira Foundation before launching her own small gallery in Glencoe, Illinois, Mae Lombardi. Lundgren is back in New York after running Winter Street Gallery on Martha\u2019s Vineyard for five years.<\/p>\n

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Slip House opened on May 9 on the Lower East Side. Courtesy Slip House<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pair first met at a party in Los Angeles a few years ago and immediately hit it off, with similar tastes, interests and ethos. At the time, both were running galleries in comparable cultural and socio-demographic contexts and grappling with similar challenges. Additionally, both had been exploring curatorial formats that blurred the boundaries between generations, frequently showcasing emerging artists alongside more established ones. This commitment to weaving diverse voices into a fertile intergenerational dialogue now sits at the core of Slip House\u2019s programming.<\/p>\n

The inaugural exhibition, curated by former Spr\u00fcth Magers director Jessica Draper<\/a>, includes historic works by Jack Whitten<\/a> and Claude Viallat<\/a>, shown alongside recent pieces by emerging names rising on the international scene, such as Oda Iselin S\u00f8nderland, Noelia Towers<\/a>, Anne Hayden Stevens<\/a>, Lizzy Gabay<\/a>, Max Guy<\/a>, Nour Malas<\/a>, Katharina Schilling<\/a> and Jill Tate<\/a>, among others. Primarily on a smaller scale, the works are thoughtfully calibrated to the domestic, intimate spaces across the gallery\u2019s three floors.<\/p>\n

Working across multiple stages of the artists\u2019 careers and price points, Lundgren and Dembkoski see their program as one that can speak to\u2014and engage\u2014diverse audiences: from seasoned collectors and institutional contacts to newer collectors who find the gallery\u2019s flexible format more accessible and inviting.<\/p>\n

The duo\u2019s goal\u2014at least in the gallery\u2019s early years\u2014is to foster collaborations rather than rep artists. \u201cOur idea is to bring in outside curators to work with us and also collaborate with outside galleries, especially when it comes to estates,\u201d Lundgren clarified. \u201cWe see ourselves as part of a generational shift. We want to reshuffle hierarchies, making some room for nuance.\u201d Echoing her partner, Dembkoski added, \u201cI think we both see a need to be able to have more intergenerational discourse\u2014not only between artists but also between galleries.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Slip House\u2019s first show runs through June 15, 2025. Photo: Software Studios<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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