In these days of post-studio, post-Internet artistry, of nomadic careers and collaborative cohorts, the artist’s studio can sometimes seem like a thing of the past, a relic from that bygone era before the supposed death of the author and the age of mechanical reproduction. But even if young artists work increasingly out of backpacks, on laptops or in tandem, alone time in a fairly private work space remains an essential condition for creativity.

To remind us of the history of the artist’s studio, its multiple roles as work space, refuge, stage, gallery and subject, the Gagosian Gallery has mounted not one but two museum-quality exhibitions, “In the Studio: Paintings” in its space on West 21st Street in Chelsea, and “In the Studio: Photographs” at its flagship gallery on the Upper East Side.