I Am Here
You Are Not
I Love You

I Am Here You Are Not I Love You is a memoir forthcoming from the University of Iowa Press in spring 2025. It is also the name of a short documentary film accompanying the book. Both are part of a broader effort reintroduce the late visual artists Andrew Topolski and Cindy Suffoletto through the eyes and voice of their nephew and godson, the writer Aidan Ryan.

Topolski and Suffoletto left Buffalo for New York City in 1985. They were part of the same current that carried more famous names—like Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo, their friends, neighbors, and sometimes-rivals back in Buffalo. All were members of a celebrated generation of artists who made their mark on Buffalo but shortly left for SoHo and the burgeoning Brooklyn of the mid-1980s and early 90s seeking greater access to opportunities. Topolski died suddenly in 2008, on the cusp of a radical reinvention of his artistic practice. Suffoletto died—just as unexpectedly—four years later.

A mysterious package arrived in February 2020. From an unknown sender, it contained images of Suffoletto and Topolski in Paris in the early 90s—a little-known chapter in their lives as artists and partners. It set their nephew on a path of exploration, seeking to uncover more of his late aunt and uncle’s lives, starting with the clues they left behind in their art. Ryan’s journey illuminates a critical period in late-twentieth century art, as he follows his aunt and uncle’s path through the orbits of Longo and Sherman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mary Boone, Richard Serra, Wynn Kramarsky, and many others from avant-garde of Buffalo in the 1970s and the cutthroat competition of SoHo in the megagallery era.

On one level, I Am Here You Are Not I Love You presents a critical reexamination of the artist Andrew Topolski, one of the greatest practitioners of postminimalism and a figure that advocates have long positioned for canonical recognition. In repositioning Topolski’s legacy and vast body of work, the book makes compelling findings—relevant for artists in any medium—about the critical role of timing, networking, and institutional as well as interpersonal support in the making and breaking of artistic careers. At the same time, the project uncovers and presents a significant body of work by Suffoletto, little-shown and never cataloged during her life. Ultimately, Ryan argues that the time is right for both to take up a privileged place among the great artists of their generation.

Follow this page for updates about the book, the film, and exhibitions and events.