French fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon, was born in 1944, into a family of art dealers and artists. After attending art school and joining the army, Bensimon went on to work for fashion magazines in France. In 1969, after two years at Elle magazine in Paris, he further established his international reputation by moving to the USA and starting an American version of Elle, as International Creative Director.
As Director at Elle he took the magazine to new heights, while also becoming a celebrated portrait photographer, working with models and celebrities including Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Yasmin Le Bon, Madonna and Keira Knightly.
Bensimon has always engaged with his love of art, literature and the power of the photographic image on a personal level, alongside his commercial work. A particular enthusiasm appeared in the form of water and flowers, which led him to commence his Watercolour series in 2011; a significant departure from his earlier figurative works. The project found him floating in pools for months at a time, photographing arrangements of flowers. The resulting images are a beautiful combination of varied colours, decisive movements through the water's surface and chance reflections of light.