Lyrebird / Eternal Garden

In Lydia Millet’s dreamlike fable Lyrebird, Abigail Turner of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, accepts a surprise invitation to sing for the mysterious David at his luxurious mansion deep in a remote forest. She has reservations, but enlists master Googler and jujitsu Quinn for protection and soon finds herself among a cadre of accomplished guests on whom her subsequent performance has an unexpected effect.

Matched with an artwork by Genieve Figgis, the publication is part of Gagosian’s Picture Books, an imprint conceived by author Emma Cline and dedicated to publishing fiction by leading writers alongside contributions by celebrated contemporary artists.

In her surreal painting Eternal Garden (2022), Figgis depicts a figure with a bird’s head in a long dress haunting the formal grounds of a stately country home. The scene is richly colored but macabre, reflecting, perhaps, the dark side of ostentatious luxury and offering a fitting counterpart to Millet’s tale.