In september, 2025, Oana Ivan Gallery presents a solo exhibition dedicated to Gilles Bensimon, the legendary photographer whose lens has shaped the aesthetics of fashion and influenced the representation of women for over four decades.
The relationship between Oana Ivan and Gilles Bensimon is grounded in a deep professional and artistic bond. For more than fifteen years, the two have collaborated closely,united by a shared sensibility and a refined visual instinct. When Oana Ivan launched Frame/Book/Magazine, a publication celebrating image and contemporary creativity, Gilles Bensimon’s involvement was a natural choice—his visual signature played a key role in shaping the identity and spirit of the project. Their many shared shoots—from Cuba to Mexico—were driven by a pursuit of light, grace, and authenticity, and led them to encounter and collaborate with leading figures such as Yvon Lambert, Roberto Fabelo, and Adel Abdessemed.

This exhibition brings together around fifty works created between 1986 and 2021. Iconic images and lesser-known prints are displayed side by side, forming a visual narrative imbued with freshness, elegance, and freedom. Moving between art and fashion - a duality at the heart of his work - Gilles Bensimon redefined the visual codes of femininity, transcending genres. Often called a photographer “of women,” Bensimon is above all a photographer for women. He liberated the image of the female body without ever objectifying it, capturing strong, radiant, and independent figures in all their intensity. He profoundly reimagined how women are photographed—not as static icons or muses, but as partners in a shared creative vision. His work is an ode to presence, intimacy, and fleeting beauty..

A close friend of designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Azzedine Alaïa, Bensimon played a key role in launching the careers of countless icons. His timeless and intuitive gaze became a visual language of its own - an exception in the world of photography, marked by his ability to capture the invisible: an attitude, a breath, a mystery

“Everything I have, I owe to women,” he says. For Bensimon, a portrait should always hold an element of surprise, of shadow. His goal: to make “timeless images that still say something about the moment.” It’s a pursuit that he continues with tireless precision, often shadowed by doubt: “I’m never fully satisfied with my photographs.” Perhaps this restlessness is what drives him forward, always searching, always shooting. When asked about his favorite photograph, he replies: “It’s the one I’ll take tomorrow.”

From Linda Evangelista (1989) to Hailey Bieber (2017), including Azzedine Alaïa (1994), Gisele
Bündchen (2000), and Charlize Theron (2001), the women in his photographs embody a
constantly renewed sense of youth and a grace untouched by time.