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Death of Bonni Benrubi

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Bonni Benrubi passed away. She lost her battle against a cancer that started three years ago. Next week we will talk again of her surprising gallery as a tribute to her Today we republish her interview with Stéphanie de Rougé made a few month ago.

When I arrive at the gallery, I take a moment to enjoy the exhibition City Stages; Matthew Pillsbury’s long-exposure photographs taken with a view camera. 
Further on, in another room, I find myself in front of a large color photograph with so much texture that it’s almost difficult to process. The cloudy image is vaguely reminiscent of Yellowstone National Park. I look around the room, then approach Abelardo Morell’s View of Landscape Outside Florence in Room with Bookcase, which I have never seen in person. No good. I return to the large color print. My brain is reeling. A double exposure? “Of course not,” says Bonni. “We don’t allow any manipulation here, nothing creative outside of the mind. This image is part of Morell’s famous Camera Obscura series.” 
Basically, Abelardo uses a room as if it were a camera chamber. He covers all the windows, letting only a sliver of light shine though. This produces an inverted, but precise, projection of the view outside. Then he takes a picture of the projection. In the Yellowstone photograph, he set up a tent and recreated the same process. The big difference, though, is that the exterior image is projected onto a textured surface, the rocky ground, instead of a smooth hotel room wall. 
Captivating. 

Bonni speaks for a while about “Abe,” whom she’s represented for many years. I can sense how important her relationship with the artist has been in her life as a gallerist. Her story is touching, funny and unpretentious.

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