Located in Greenwich and celebrating its 10th anniversary in November, C. Parker Gallery is an art gallery owned by Tiffany Benincasa, a former Wall Street executive with experience in UBS Investment Bank and J.P. Morgan.
Originally, Benincasa was going to open a Greenwich gallery in 2005 but had a change of mind at the last minute.
“I was still working on Wall Street ”” I had told them I was going to be stepping down and going to pursue a different career,” she said. “I negotiated the lease, had it all signed, was about to accept the space. Then I kind of got cold feet because I didn”™t have retail experience. So, I didn”™t launch then. I continued with my art consulting and advisory.”
Benincasa”™s passion for art and art collecting was present during her time working in finance, and she believed that knowledge of both worlds complemented each other.
“The art world and finance have so many similarities, in that it”™s about trying to understand your criteria and your objectives,” she said.
Benincasa pursued her passion by using the money she earned in Wall Street to build C. Parker Gallery from the ground up.
“I built the business on my own hard work ”” I was not financed by anybody else,” Benincasa said. “I am truly a woman-owned, self-financed business.”
One of Benincasa”™s top priorities as a gallerist is helping clients find and purchase their preferred art piece by utilizing her knowledge of the art world to meet their criteria.
“I”™m somebody who just really wanted to go in and be able to offer knowledge and connect people with art,” she said. “Our business has grown and thrived based on the fact that we provide high-level service. I think our clients feel that we add a lot of value to their search for artwork.”
Over the years, Benincasa has forged relationships with collectors, dealers and other galleries across the country, allowing her to connect clients to the greater art world.
“It”™s not just the art that”™s on our wall. We really help people find the art that they”™re seeking,” she said.
The gallery”™s latest collaboration is with Bonnie Lautenberg, a celebrated artist who has amassed a large body of work featured in esteemed institutions like the New York Historical Society Museum and Boca Raton Museum of Art. Lautenberg”™s work in photography, art, writing and music deeply impressed Benincasa, prompting her to reach out to Lautenberg.
“I am in awe of her and all the things that she”™s accomplished. She uses her voice and her platform to highlight many organizations and issues that are important to her,” Benincasa said.
C. Parker Gallery”™s exhibit, “Artistica! Where Hollywood Meets Art History,” is on view through Nov. 16 and showcases Lautenberg”™s photographic collection. Each piece juxtaposes a work from the world of art and a frame, film still or promotional material from a Hollywood motion picture, both works being from the same year.
“I started thinking about what influences us: current events, politics, the world around us, our homes, our friends,” Lautenberg said. “I started thinking about film and art, and how they have influenced each other and I decided to play around with film and art until I got this body of work.”
Through the course of five years, Lautenberg has created 90 pieces for the “Artistica!” collection.
“I love to watch people”™s faces looking at this because they”™re so intrigued by it. It brings a smile to people”™s faces,” Lautenberg said. “They”™re trying to guess who the artist is, what the film is. It”™s just pure joy, really.”
