A talk and book signing at Gagosian Beverly Hills

The launch of my new book took place in the perfect venue for a book about art— an art gallery. And not just any gallery.

The venue: Gagosian Beverly Hills, CA- image courtesy of Gagosian

When it was firmly in place that I was to do an artist talk and book signing for my new book, New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting at one of the most influential, prestigious art galleries in the country (or the world for that matter), the main thing that came to mind was what will this talk be about?

 For me, it came down to the content of the lecture. I tried my best not to get caught up in the venue. 

That Gagosian was the location for the launch of the book was due to several factors, the main reason being that the exhibit on display at their Beverly Hills location was of the work of the artist Ewa Juszkiewicz. One of her paintings is on the cover of the book, and a description of her work within, so there was a natural synergy in play in having the event in the midst of her work. Ewa herself wanted the book signing there and Gagosian, having been provided an advanced copy of the book to look over (giving it a thumbs-up) agreed to do so.

The setting: Ewa Juszkiewicz’s exhibition In a Shady Valley, Near a Running Water- image courtesy of Gagosian

The Gagosian staff were easy to work with, consummate professionals. I was given a day and time for the event, and was told that they were devoting 90 minutes to it. I was to be given 20 minutes for the lecture itself, 10 minutes to mingle and chat with the audience, with the other 60 minutes being devoted to the book signing. With high attention to detail, they even asked what pens I preferred to use to sign books.

Phaidon, my publisher, was sent a link to pre-approved promotional materials, which I was privy to.  Though it was quite surreal seeing my name in the Gagosian house font in large point size, the preparations were all done so smoothly from their end that in the end, everything seemed quite natural. The collaterals had nothing to do with me personally—this was how Gagosian advertises events. These were standard operating procedures for in-house advertising and branding of a successful company. And it was only natural for the Monacelli Press—who, before they were aquired by Phaidon had produced beautiful monographs on Eric Fischl, Kiki Smith and Louise Bourgeois— to be associated with Gagosian. Still, I was left with the feeling that this lecture was meant to happen the way it was unfolding. What better place for a book release/ signing of an art book than an art gallery? And for the US launch/book release, what better place than Gagosian, the host gallery of the artist on the cover of my book?

Official Gagosian IG “story” collateral. Seen low-res here. image courtesy of Gagosian

My book is about the residual influences of historical Surrealism on contemporary painting. Thus, there was a wide swath of subject matter to choose from. So few people know the actual origin story of the Surrealist movement that I thought the lecture should cover at least up to the First Surrealist Manifesto in 1924 when the movement officially went public.  That origin story established, I then planned to skip ahead 100 years and talk about the work of some contemporary artists that reveals a surrealist influence. If I covered both of those aspects, I would be providing a brief synopsis of the book without giving away too much of it content. My plan was to lecture, while simultaneously advancing a power point presentation to the audience.

But who to highlight out of the 43 living artists included in New Surrealism? I decided there were two criteria for inclusion in the lecture. One, I would definitely include the three artists who exhibit with Gagosian. Not only is their work fabulous, but their inclusion would be respectful to the host gallery. For the rest, I decided to go with Surrealist themes that I cover in the book, and let those themes dictate whom else to include in the lecture by choosing the artists who best illustrated those themes.

The themes:

1. The Psychic Landscape
2. The Psychic Interior
3. The Totem (totemic), The Guardian of the liminal state. 

This delineation made assembling the lecture easy. The next hurdle came when I practiced the presentation and it clocked in at 45 minutes. So, I practiced  over and over till I got it down to 30 minutes.  Still not quite good enough. So, I thought, where to cut?

I decided that a long section where I discussed Ewa Juszkiewicz’ work in detail could be trimmed from three paragraphs down to one. Her paintings were be on display for everyone to see, and the quality of the work spoke for itself. The newly edited paragraph still covered the essence of what I wanted to say about her work.

The gallery spaces at the Beverly Hills location are vast and stunning. image courtesy of Stephanie Moon

That evening I drove to Beverly Hills, solo, in my rental car. I did not want to drive with friends, so that I could stay focused. I wore a dark grey suit, with no tie. Instead, for the purpose of color accent,   I wore a lavender shirt from Bode—a gift from a terrific and dear friend. It helped me look a bit less uptight, more of the artist I am, rather than merely a professor giving a lecture.  I felt very confident right up until the moment I walked into Gagosian, and then it hit me just how incredible the gallery was. The sheer scale of it was overwhelming, with its luxuriously spacious glass, steel and wooden interior structures and poured, polished concrete floor. Its vaulted ceilings were so high, so vast, that the gallery resembled an airport hanger, or modernist cathedral. Ewa’s paintings, which contain life-size figures, seemed like quaint easel paintings in that setting. I went over to the clear acrylic podium that had been set up for me and began speaking into the mic, to give the AV technicians some audio levels. 

Me, delivering the presentation. Image courtesy of Jeremy Pangilinan.

That done, I knew that I needed to stay centered and not get caught up in either the enormous space, nor the attendees who were beginning to arrive, so I slipped  “backstage” where the staff offices were.  I went to a corner out of the way, next to some packing crates and materials and took out a printed version of my presentation. I set a timer on my phone and began to practice my presentation on a loop, non-stop, delivering it to the adjacent wall. Staff walked by and I did not engage them, nor did they interrupt me. I took one break, to get a glass of wine from the bar station Gagosian had set up, made sure that I made no eye contact with the guests and then scurried right back into “hiding “to practice.  On the last go-through, I got the lecture down to 17 minutes(!) and was finally satisfied.

And then I received word that my presence was needed and I was about to be introduced. So, I took a deep breath and headed to the alcove near the podium. As I was introduced, and took my place at the podium I took a look out at the audience. Packed house. In the seated area, all of the chairs were filled, and the rest of the people were standing in loosely organized rows behind them. I waited for the applause to die down and then I launched into it.

Lecture in Progress- image courtesy of Gagosian

I was nervous at first, but I told myself that this was IT, and that I needed to give them a night to remember. I needed to come through in a way that would do both my publisher and Gagosian proud. So I deliberately slowed my cadence down, lowered my tonal range and made sure to breathe properly. I focused on coming across self assured in my delivery, pausing for effect when needed, making eye contact with the audience when needed. There was only one place where I stumbled, lost my train of thought, but I recovered quickly.

When I was done, there was a lot of applause. The opening applause had been polite, more of an expected courtesy, but this closing applause seemed genuine. Not used to that type of applause, it made me a bit delirious for a moment. But I snapped out of it quickly and made my way through the crowd, shaking hands.  Deborah, the director of the gallery, complemented me on the contents of the lecture. I was still out of it though, as evidenced by the act that I made my way over to the book selling table, not the book signing table they had set up for me.  The Director of Events, Tessa, gently pointed me in the right direction. She also mentioned that my lecture had taken nearly 45 minutes (!!!), nowhere near the 20 allotted for it. How had that happened? But I did not have time to dwell on that. I had books to sign. 

The book table, ably manned by very helpful Gagosian staff - image courtesy of Gagosian

The line at the book table got long, quickly. image courtesy of Gagosian

The line at the book signing got long as well. image courtesy of Gagosian

Next thing I knew I was shaking hands, writing dedications, signing books. Ten to fifteen minutes later, they were sold out of books. It happened so fast, that everyone was surprised. As many were leaving without books, I stayed at my station and signed a few other items for the attendees to stick in their copies of the books when they eventually got them.

Friends, family, fellow artists and art enthusiasts all came out that night. Some flew in from other cities, some drove hours in LA traffic. It is true that I had gone “long” with the lecture, but obviously everyone appreciated the effort and wanted more copies of the book than were on-hand. I mingled for a bit and then headed to the afterparty. But that is a different chapter to the story that I will not cover here (except for pic below).  I am very grateful to everyone, including the staff at Gagosian, for a meaningful and unforgettable event.

Mezcal cocktails with old friends at the after-party at The Beverly Bar - image courtesy Kate Alley

Next up- The New York Book Signing at Lyles & King on February 1, 2024.