Editors, designers, and publicists spend their days refining and supporting a writer’s art—his or her book. But, in an effort to once again put its employees’ own talents on display, the third annual Hachette Book Group Gallery Project was held by the publisher last week in HBG’s New York office. The initiative invited employees across all imprints and departments to submit art in any medium—and the results were certainly varied.
Jonathan Lopes, senior production manager at LBYR and accomplished Lego artist, created a statue of Mr. Tiger (from Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, by Peter Brown, an LBYR book) that was more than six feet tall. The piece consisted of 9,800 Lego bricks and took Lopes about 30 hours to make. The gallery also featured a piece from Lisa Faith Phillips, director of digital strategy development, sculpted out of a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, as well as photographs by Conan Gorenstein, a longtime HBG sales representative who passed away in September. “Conan had signed up in the summer to participate in the Gallery Project,” said v-p and communications director Sophie Cottrell, adding that his brother provided photos for the show. “He was a beloved—and very creative—sales rep, and it was wonderful to have Conan’s beautiful photos on display.”
Nearly 200 friends and family of the 18 participating artists gathered on October 22 for the opening of the show. “The galley project is an event I look forward to all year,” said Rory Sullivan, account assistant, sales strategy and operations. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate the artist within all of us.”