The launch of Romance by Damiani Books, Douglas Kirkland’s latest monograph will take place on September 18th, 2025, at Aghdami Neri studio, Milan, via Pietro Maroncelli 14, the newly reopened space, formerly home to the iconic Grazia Neri Gallery, which played a key role in Douglas Kirkland’s international career. This inaugural exhibition marks a new chapter in the life of the space, now in the hands of Grazia’s granddaughter Lucia Neri.
The accompanying exhibition, curated by Lucia Neri and The Romance Escapade Team, will showcase a selection of twenty-one images from the book, focusing on some of Kirkland’s most iconic portrayals of couples.
Françoise Kirkland, Douglas’s Love and wife, writes :
This book is a love letter to anyone who is as hopeless a romantic as I am.
The idea came to me one night shortly after Douglas died. I had gone to the opening of a beautiful exhibition of photographs by Julie Blackmon at the Fahey/Klein Gallery. I was among friends and colleagues, yet I came home overcome with sadness. I realized that the reason for my despair was not just missing Douglas, but the overwhelming realization that he would no longer take pictures. I wanted to crawl under a rock, but instead I spent the night looking through images which spoke to me of love, connection, togetherness. I had no idea where it would take me, but I knew I felt safe.
Photography was Douglas’ first love. He was a dreamer who saw the world better through his camera. He would roll over in the morning and say, “You look beautiful,” and grab a camera in spite of my protests.
The erotic tension that sparks desire is something physical–yes, very physical–and yet also mental. There is a part of me which responds violently to beauty and creativity. It is totally out of my control. This provokes stimulation akin to euphoria.
Watching my lover like a voyeur, knowing he is not aware, lusting and admiring him for doing what he does with passion, knowing that it has nothing do with me, takes my breath away. I find it totally irresistible.
Romance for me is the willingness to surrender with complete abandon. To feel wild, reckless, with a heart full, full of contradictions, full of love, is a state of grace. It is a precious gift, a seductive, intriguing, and slightly dangerous treasure.
Plein les yeux, plein la tête, plein le coeur, plein le corps.
Françoise Kirkland
The Book :
Douglas Kirkland : Romance
Damiani Books
Hardcover
8 x 10 in. / 112 pgs / 103 color.
Pub Date 10/28/2025
ISBN 9788862088480 TRADE
$55.00 €50.00
www.damianibooks.com/en/products/romance
The Exhibition :
Douglas Kirkland : Romance
Exhibition by appointment only from September 19th – October 18th
Book Signing & Exhibition
September 18th, 2025 – From 6 PM – 10 PM
Aghdami Neri studio
via Pietro Maroncelli 14
Milan, Italy
www.aghdamineri.com
