Trent Davis Bailey and Diana Markosian in conversation

​Artists Trent Davis Bailey and Diana Markosian will speak in a joint conversation moderated by writer Rebecca Bengal, about their long-term, memoir-driven, genre-bending photographic book projects: specifically Bailey's new book, Son Pictures (2026), and Markosian's book, Father (2024). Both artists are known for pushing the boundaries of photographic storytelling in book form. Their varied photographic approaches, combined with their writing, enable them to mine their pasts and cultivate new meaning in the present.

​Markosian and Bailey have published five books between them. Shared themes in their work include grief, loss, geography, intimacy, hope, and the absence of a parent during childhood. Both photographers, who grew up in the 1990s, also explore the influence of cinema, popular media, and family archives, often combining multiple sources in their reflective, heartfelt searches for genuine meaning and resolution, however tenuous that may be.

​Hear Markosian and Bailey in conversation with Bengal followed by a book signing with all three participants. Bailey's book, Son Pictures, is published by Chose Commune and Markosian's book, Father, and Bengal's book, Strange Hours, are both published by Aperture.

​Founded by Ethan James Green in 2022, New York Life Gallery centers collaborative curations with artists across all mediums. The gallery exhibits emerging and mid-career artists as well as unknown archives and 20th-century artworks. As an artist-run space, the gallery focuses on programming that is community-oriented.

​Light refreshments will be served.