Renell’s Frame of Mind For the last several years, when your favorite artist has a new vision they want to communicate—particularly if they want to step outside of their comfort zone, or present themselves in a bold new context—Renell Medrano is on their short-list of collaborators. The Bronx-born photographer has long since established herself within the culture as one of the most striking shooters in the game. The list of artists who’ve sat before her lens is as deep as it is wide-ranging, from Jay-Z to Justin Bieber, Solange to Timothee Chalamet. “I try to protect an environment where people feel comfortable being themselves,” Medrano says humbly. “Trust is really important to me, because it allows people to let their guard down and create something honest.” Anyone else might rest on the laurels of an already deeply impressive resume, but Medrano’s word for 2026 says everything about her mindset these days: “expansion.” Renell kicked off 2026 by continuing to expand her powers to new mediums, directing the music video for Baby Keem’s Kendrick Lamar collaboration “Good Flirts,” a core single in his comeback following a five-year hiatus. Which is to say, it was an assignment with high stakes, that required a lot of trust from some very particular artists; immediate consensus following its release was that she hit it out of the park. It marked her third visual, after clips for Lorde and Bad Bunny last year, and followed by one for Gracie Abrams earlier this spring. That Medrano can be the common artistic denominator across such an eclectic group speaks to the broad appeal of her very specific style. “I try not to put myself in a box,” Medrano explains. “I’m interested in exploring different mediums and working across different worlds, so I’m always open to things that challenge me creatively. For me, it’s about finding a way to bring my own perspective to a project, rather than limiting myself to one thing.” Still, like all great artists, Medrano’s roots and sensibilities are often apparent and evident; you can always find traces of her New York DNA in some aspects of her work. “I’m born and raised in New York, so it’s not just an influence on my work, it’s part of who I am,” Medrano says. “The people, the energy, the way different worlds exist alongside each other, it’s all shaped how I see things. I think that perspective naturally comes through in what I photograph and the stories I’m drawn to tell.” That perspective is just one of several reasons why it made perfect sense why Jay-Z tapped her to contribute to the multimedia and concert interstitials for his series of stadium shows this past summer. “Moving into directing and multimedia has allowed me to tell stories in a more complete way,” Medrano says. “I can explore movement, sound, and emotion beyond a single frame. The challenge is learning to think differently across each medium, but that’s also what makes it exciting. I’m enjoying pushing myself creatively.” Medrano’s been at this long enough for there to be a clear arc across her work, a path and maturation that she’s charting in real time. Her senior thesis project back in her Parsons days was called Untitled Youth—fittingly, considering youthful energy has been a consistent theme in most of her work in ways both overt and indirect. But almost 10 years later, Medrano feels a shift happening. “Youth will always be part of my work, but I think my interest has grown into something broader,” Medrano explains. “I’m drawn to people, their identities, and the different ways they experience the world. Untitled Youth was a starting point, and those ideas continue to evolve with me.” She’s also been at this long enough to note the external changes as well. “The industry moves so much faster now, especially with social media and how images are consumed,” Medrano says, while allowing that “there’s more access and more voices, which I think is exciting, but it also makes it important to create work that has a life beyond the moment it’s seen.” To that end, Renell has been thinking about how to create art and contribute to culture with an intention that’s built to be eternal, describing an “intuitive” relationship to her art and looking to different muses and influences to keep her fresh. “I’m inspired by things outside of photography just as much as the images themselves — music, film, people, and everyday life. I’m always absorbing things, and over time those influences find their way into my work in ways I don’t always expect.” One such avenue has been Ice Magazine, the publication she’s been producing that presents women in the female gaze. “Ice is an extension of my perspective, but it’s also about creating space for other people's perspectives to exist. It's inclusive by nature, and being a platform by women, for women, is a really important part of that. I wanted to create something where different voices, identities, and ideas could come together without feeling like they had to fit into a certain mold. For me, it’s about opening up the conversation, celebrating individuality, and giving people the freedom to express themselves in their own way.” Asked to imagine what she wants her work to say about her a decade or two from now—and the future she wants to build towards—Medrano hopes “that it opens doors for other people, shifts perspectives, and makes people feel seen.” To get there, Medrano says she’s disciplining herself “to trust my own vision and stay committed to it, even when things take longer than expected or don’t unfold the way I imagined. There’s a lot that goes into building something from the ground up, and it’s about staying consistent, being patient, and continuing to show up for the work even when no one is watching.” She’s already been established as one of the most vital creatives we have, but looking at her work lately, it still feels like we’re at the beginning of a very long run. “There are so many stories I want to tell, people I want to work with, and different directions I want to explore. I’m excited by the idea of continuing to evolve and not knowing exactly what that will look like. As long as I’m curious and still feel like there’s something new to discover, I think I’ll keep going.”
