INDULGING IN BEAUTY: A DAY WITH PHOTOGRAPHER GAVIN BENJAMIN By David Bernabo
Going into my interview with photographer Gavin Benjamin, I realized my knowledge of his work was a little outdated. In 2014, we did a show together as part of the Casey Droegecurated portion of the Pittsburgh Biennial. In what is now the Miller ICA, I collected field recordings and vocal pieces for a series of 7” records, while Gavin’s majestic still life photographs filled each wall of the room. Bathed in aged lacquer, the photographs felt otherworldly, like scenes from a different time and place--pillaged fruits and emptied clamshells, melted candles and shards of glass, elaborate floral arrangements and animal skulls. These were scenes of decadence, use, and unfinished business, cast in deep, rich colors against a black void.
| Issue 19
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