Nic Nicosia: Everyday Surreal is a survey of the last 25 years of the artist’s five-decade career that reveals the material and conceptual evolution of one of the city’s most important living artists. With a fresh focus on his turn to sculpture in the 2010s, the exhibition will feature over 70 three-dimensional works, drawings, photographs, and films made since his mid-career survey in 1999–2000, in an installation evocative of the subtly surreal environments conceived in the artist’s work.

At Interabang Books, Nicosia and Morse will discuss the development of the exhibition and catalogue, offering insight into the material and conceptual shifts that define this body of work. The conversation will explore Nicosia’s enduring interest in constructed worlds, the role of storytelling in his practice, and the subtle surrealism that animates even his most everyday scenes.

Guests will have the opportunity to purchase the catalogue and have it signed following the program.

About the Speakers

Born in Dallas in 1951, Nic Nicosia came to prominence in the 1980s as part of the Pictures Generation, an unofficial group of artists practicing in the 1970s and 80’s who questioned the authenticity of images and their role in shaping perceptions. He is best known for his photographs and films depicting everyday life—moments quietly quirky or completely gone awry—with costumed actors in brightly-colored sets including real objects with artist-made simulacra and hand-drawn or painted images. These photographic works exemplified a unique vision that dove-tailed nicely with broader Postmodern trends in contemporary art also represented in the work of artists such as Cindy Sherman, Laurie Simmons, and Jeff Wall, earning him notice in important exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial in New York (1983 and 2000), Image Fabrique at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1983), and Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany (1992).

Chief Curator Jed Morse joined the staff of the Nasher Sculpture Center in 2002 where he has organized numerous exhibitions, most recently including Harry Bertoia: Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life in 2021, Mark di Suvero: Steel Like Paper in 2022, and Sarah Sze in 2024. In 2013, Morse co-curated Nasher XChange, a citywide exhibition featuring site-specific installations from 10 national and international artists in celebration of the Nasher’s 10th anniversary.  

About Interabang Books

Interabang Books is an independent bookstore with a hand-picked selection of books and gifts for adults and kids. We opened in July 2017 at the southeast corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. Interabang Books is now open at 5600 W. Lovers Lane #142, in the Pavilion on Lovers Lane, between the Dallas North Tollway and Inwood Road. The original bookstore, at the corner of Preston and Royal, was destroyed by a tornado on October 20, 2019. Interabang's virtual store operates online at InterabangBooks.com, promptly fulfilling orders for any book in print.