In just four years, the Gochman Family Collection brings together one of the most important works of contemporary indigenous artists and creatives. The series is considered a private loan collection rather than a self-sponsored business, focusing entirely on the artists and their communities. Its founder intentionally took a step back and allowed the series’ mission to speak for itself.
Today, the series is partly on both venues: a Central Park Snack Apartment in the Manhattan residential area and a Palm Beach residence – both of which welcome visitors. In these spaces, the series’ curators have created compelling conversations among a wide variety of artists, many of whom have gained wide institutional recognition in recent years. The lineup covers contemporary figures such as Nicholas Galanin and Cannupa Hanska Luger to like Beau Dick and the late Jaune ) Quick access to pioneer voices like Jaune Quick-see Smith, who conducted a major survey at the Whitney Museum last year and highlighted her lasting influence.
The series goes beyond its initial focus on Native North American communities and now includes visionaries from all over the Americas. Among them is the Colombian artist Aycoboo, whose shamanic works are radiated in the knowledge of the Amazon landscape and the worldview of the Neuyan people, at the Last Venetian Biennale.
After visiting two locations, observers at the Hudson River Museum (February 14-August 31, 2025) at the Hudson River Museum in “Smoke in Hair: Local Memory and Uneasiness” at the Hudson River Museum. “I had a previous conversation with the series' custodian Becky Gochman and director Zach Feuer. The exhibition explores the stratified history of the past, present and future of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Natives and Metis artists, primarily works drawn from the Gochman Collection.
“I've always wanted to do something in the art world as a gift to the art world,” Gochman said, sharing how her 22-year-old daughter's bold decision to condemn an unapologetic article for a prestigious equestrian magazine A work of condemnation. George Floyd's murder – inspired her. “It gave me the courage to keep moving forward and keep going what I wanted to do all the time behind my head.”
A few months later, Gochman purchased a building that once belonged to Ai Wewei, an amazingly barbaric structure and the only space in the United States designed by famous artists. “I was introduced to Zach Feuer soon after, and it was obvious that we were very like-minded. With his help, we conceived and launched an Indigenous social justice program. That's how Forge Project was born.”
In fact, the origins of the Gochman Family Collection trace back to the Forge Project, which is now a native-led initiative located on the unfinished national park of Moh-He-Con-Nuck in upstate New York. Under the leadership of Candice Hopkins, Executive Director and Chief Curator, the Forge Project is committed to promoting leadership in Indigenous arts, non-ruling education and promoting cultural advocacy, food security and land justice. “We went back to direction and leadership very early on because we knew it had to be indigenous and run.”
So while the series develops from the Forge project, its growth remains independent. Gochman explained: “We started collecting immediately because we thought it was important to collect living Aboriginal artists at all levels, but especially to create a loan collection – to raise funds to these artists and their communities while improving through different institutions. Their popularity is now available. “Forge Project currently owns the first part of the series, with a number of about 100 pieces, while the Gochman Family Collection (now unique) has expanded to about 500 pieces. “Forge is always in our hearts and we want to continue to support it. At the same time, with this collection, we can continue to build fair relationships with artists and support them throughout their careers, which is one of our main goals.”
At the heart of building meaningful interactions with the community is the diverse team behind the Gochman Family Collection, which has many Indigenous voices. These include artist Rachel Martin (tlingit/tsaagweidei, the Killer Whale Clan (Xaai hit')) and Indigenous curatorial consultants such as shándíín Brown (diné), Ginger Dunniel ( Ginger Dunnill) and Larissa Nez (diné), Moonoka Begay (Ndéé + Diné) as curatorial assistant.
Although the series has started hosting private tours, most of the events and visits have been conducted so far by artists, their families and people in their communities. “But we’ve seen a growing demand for museum groups and curators,” Gochman pointed to the strategic location of the Upper Town space – just a museum miles between the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What resonates most, however, is the warmth, family atmosphere retained by the series as it becomes part of a shared story of family collection and community engagement. Artworks are exhibited in the apartment rooms, living with the rhythm of everyday life. “I think art does speak in that apartment. It’s really exciting that our girls grew up among teenagers between these artworks.
Rachel Cole’s symbolic and heartfelt location-specific works portray the entire family as the city’s native birds – Pigeon, carefully decorated. “These artworks have had a profound impact on our family and our friends,” Gochman said. “I can’t even explain everything we learned, felt, recognized and recognized during this journey of collecting.”
The option to place the collection in a domestic setting reflects a commitment to the loan mission, while recognizing that many institutions have served these communities. Feuer runs his gallery of the same name from 2000 to 2016 and co-founded a new alliance of art dealers, detailing: “When you become an institution, your risk is more focused on the institutional side than on the artists. With this dynamic loan collection idea, we can consistently ask artists what they want, how they will benefit, and the best way to work on projects and venues where it can get more and meet a wider audience.”
The series can also serve as a long-term support platform for artists, providing ongoing career development through travel, exhibitions, residency opportunities, release support and introductions to professional networks. “I think 90% of artists visited locations on the Upper East Side,” Martin said. “This relationship with the artist allows us to learn more about the story and motivation behind the work so that we can translate it and communicate it to Favorite visitors.”
This direct relationship, coupled with the creation of support systems and communities around the series, makes the artist feel more at ease and becomes what the Gochman Family Collection does. “In the beginning, artists openly questioned why we did it. We questioned ourselves and what we were doing,” Gochman said. “It's very important to have these relationships from the beginning. We even have artists living here or Palm Beach House. It really makes sense.”
Today, Gochman Family Collection has an average of 100 to 120 loans per year, but they hope to add those numbers by expanding their collaborator base, including major venues such as the Venice Biennale, MOMA and MOMA, and regional museums outside major cities. “We are trying to provide the widest range of access to the collection, and the loan program allows us to do this by working with institutions and partners around the world,” Feuer explained. “Becky may have one thing she likes to hang on The work on the bed, but then we might send it to a small museum in Nebraska. She may be missing this piece, but it's the best because others will be able to see it. It's a real custodian, not possession and possession mentality.”
To further promote awareness, appreciation and research on the richness of Indigenous cultures, the Gochman, Feuer and Forge teams worked with Bard College to lead the transformation of the American Research Unit into the “American and Indigenous Research Unit.” The initiative includes ambitious recruitment, programming and scholarship programs and received $25 million donations from the Gochman family and matched another $25 million from George Soros. The goal is to build a public programming network focused on Native American and Indigenous studies.
This mission aims to promote the circulation, presentation and promotion of local practices and narratives, as demonstrated by many people in recent biennials, which is increasingly changing with the contemporary art world, which ultimately leads to these voices Overdue attention. While the cracks in the Western capitalist model became obvious and many were seeking alternatives, there was little interest in knowledge and spiritual institutions that promoted a more harmonious coexistence between sentient beings and the planets – in many Goke Manzhong conveys the value family collection of works.
