In the contemporary Argentine art scene, Ruth Benzacar He is almost a god: worshiped by artists, collectors and curators, the mere mention of his name arouses admiration, emotion and awe. A prominent, pioneering and visionary gallery owner, this story began in 1965 in a house in the Caballito neighborhood, laying the foundations for a project that her daughter continued after her death in 2000, Orly Benzacar (69), and now also his granddaughter, Maura Bacall (42). Today, that crazy, energetic commitment, the Ruth Benzacar Art Gallery, turns sixty years old, and in the midst of the festivities (this milestone anniversary is being marked with an exhibition, a documentary, and a book), her daughter and granddaughter—the gallery’s director and co-director, respectively—bring it to Welcome! Argentina Between memories, stories and laughter, they come and go through the history of this landmark of local art, with a strong family imprint. “Twenty-five years have passed since her death and she still has a strong presence. She left a very deep mark,” said Orly, who, with Maura’s help, continued, maintained and professionalized the mission her mother started. They talked about all that and more in this interview.
– When Ruth died, did you feel compelled to continue with the exhibition?
Orly: I’m a biologist and I worked as a biologist for ten years, and when Ruth died, I had already been working with her for ten years. Joining the show was an important decision and it was also an important decision to continue after his death. I had no obligation to continue, but I had the desire to do so and accept the challenge, because at that time the exhibition was not doing well. Ruth died in 2000 and then came in 2001: I had to paddle through a couple of bad storms.
– What do you think you should preserve in terms of legacy?
Orly: I don’t think there was ever a rational decision to think about this. What I was clear about was that I wanted our gallery to continue to be a contemporary gallery and to continue to be a gallery that showcases Argentine art to the world. Commitment to the contemporary era generates a kind of adrenaline that works like an engine.
-The level was very high, did you have to take a test?
Orly: Yes, of course. In fact, there were complex situations in this sense, such as the fact that very soon after Ruth’s death, a group of very important artists, who were like the pillar of the gallery, left.
– They didn’t trust what you could do…
-Obviously not. It wasn’t the speech then, but they left. It was difficult. But after a short while I was grateful for it, because my anger faded and I was able to realize that it was an opportunity to reestablish this project with my perspective, my style, and my mark.
-What is the most difficult?
Orly: Ruth made very strong connections, had enormous talent and charisma, and people worshiped and adored her, and I’m not like that.
BlackBerry: It’s so funny that even today you hear some people talking about Ruth and you feel like they played a very important role in their lives, and Ruth played a very important role in their lives. They were these people who had become almost essential. I don’t know if that was really the case, but she made him feel that way. This entire generation of collectors who started with Ruth as a mother has seen her.
– How difficult is it to live all this, Orly, in the midst of your grief, because your mother died before everything else…
-It goes without saying! It was very difficult. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know how I did it.
BlackBerry: Because it is part of your personality. Knowing my mother well, I can tell you that she has a personality that can overcome these blows with great heights. They do not affect her as they might affect others. It’s always moving forward.
-What does it mean for the exhibition to be sixty years old?
BlackBerry: For me, sixty years was an excuse to be able to communicate to the outside something that had been happening inside the gallery for a long time, which was more about institutional strengthening, with rethinking ways of working. Since the pandemic, we had been working on what exhibition model we wanted to be, how we wanted to work, what system we would need to respond to market and project demands for the future, and over sixty years, we have been able to figure that out.
Orly: All this adds to the importance of the sixty years, because the estate is paid for. We’re always looking forward, learning about the whole story, and seeing how it continues. And saving this from the three generations of women, from passing the torch.
-Three generations of women, is Benzakar a matriarchy?
Orly: Right now, it is, and even though it happened this way, it wasn’t planned. Obviously, when there are grandchildren one wonders: “Who will continue this?”, and fantasies arise around that. In my fantasies there are men and women: I have two candidates, one and one.
– What did Ruth leave for you as a mother and grandmother?
BlackBerry: To me, she was not an ordinary grandmother, because ordinary grandmothers were very conservative and my grandmother was very modern, more so than me at one point.
Orly: It was so cute…mixed sleep periods! At that time not everyone was doing something like this.
BlackBerry: It was calculated and hurtful. However, I also remember it being very formal, which was something at the time. They all wore silk clothes, very elegant, but she knew what a kanshiro was and bought my kanshiro clothes. In addition, it opened my dialogue to topics that grandmothers would not normally touch upon: drugs, sex, and rock and roll.
Orly: As a mother, I was more normal, atypical like my family.
BlackBerry: For us, the normal thing is this. For my children, the normal thing is to go every weekend to a museum or to an exhibition opening. Do they hate me a little? And yeah… maybe they’ll thank me later.
Orly: Living this way for us is normal. The grandchildren are staying here, in this house. That’s what we got, and it seems like a privilege to have grown up in that life. I went with my mother hand in hand to Di Tella, and it was almost obligatory. Di Tella, East Gallery…for me that was the best outing.
– When you were a child, were you aware of the importance of this franchise?
Orly: never. Back: For me it was natural.
BlackBerry: My house was more normal than my childhood home, because my father was still a chemist and worked as a chemist and my mother had been a biologist for ten years. There was construction, and on Saturday mornings I would go with my mother to the Florida 1000, and on weekends I would spend a lot of time at my grandmother’s, even with my friends. She threw a million mattresses into the living room and in that living room there was a giant Bernie. It also had a huge dining table, where we were welcomed with a breakfast that was like a real banquet… And my friends loved going: they were all very impressed by the daily experience with that house and that business, which many know to this day.
– They manage more than thirty artists. How do you do that with so many people?
BlackBerry: There are moments. Artists who have shows during that year need more attention or more follow-up, as do those who have very large institutional projects. There are artists who are more demanding than others, there are personalities, there are styles…
– Do they work a bit like psychologists?
BlackBerry: We work like everything. I think we have a lot of roles, from preparing a child’s visa because he needs to travel, to supporting an artist who is in an emotional crisis because his partner left him, to accompanying the exhibition process, with its ups and downs that can happen.
– Does the fact that the exhibition has the name and status that it does make everyone want to be there?
BlackBerry: To some extent yes, but I also notice that the medium has grown a lot and that there is competition. This is healthy. For many years we were the only contemporary art gallery going out into the world, and that’s a bit of a contraction and a huge responsibility, because it doesn’t allow you a lot of movement. Today, in the Miami art scene, for example, there are between eighteen and twenty Argentine galleries, and this represents a local production of strength, height and quality. It’s nice not to be the only one.
– How do you imagine the future of the exhibition?
Orly: I think we would like it more than we imagine. It’s hard to imagine because we live where we live, it’s hard to imagine.
BlackBerry: I also feel that doing too much futures studies can lead to disappointments. Do you know what will happen in the future? I’m secure and happy with the gallery we have today, and I’m sure we’ve built solid foundations to show who we are twenty, fifty, or a hundred years from now. As far as we want, as far as we can go and it gives us satisfaction.
-Maura, what’s it like working with your mom?
-I’m lucky because my mother had a good experience with it. If there is one thing that characterizes the bond between Ruth, Orly, and Orly with me, it is generosity and openness to listening to new voices. My mother is flexible, she allows us to listen and change. They are generous, take risks, and this facilitates continuous improvement. The same flexibility is very essential in our project being a contemporary art gallery, it is the only way to stay contemporary.
Orly: We believe that the exhibition maintains the freshness of a contemporary art gallery, with all the weight of history and heritage, but remains a fresh gallery.
– What is the dynamic of your relationship at work?
BlackBerry: We listen to each other, we don’t fight, it’s going well.
Orly: I think we complement each other well, and I listen to Maura a lot. There is respect, listening and love. My mother didn’t teach me how to transform from a mature woman into a daughter, because she died. And I think I’m closer to achieving that shift towards Maura. There’s no way I’m going to retire, because I love going to the show, I love being there, but I don’t have the same energy. Time passes and we do it naturally, and we will learn how to do it.
BlackBerry: At the moment we are doing well.
Makeup and hair: Nahuel Puentes for Sebastián Correa Estudio