About the Show and George Bennett
The 38 giclee watercolor prints which will be exhibited at the Cuban Art Space from May 27 to June 7 result from photographer George Bennett’s trip to Cuba in 2003. All of the prints started as 35mm photographs, were then scanned digitally and manipulated digitally with Bennett’s own process to create some of their watercolor, sketchbook quality. They were then printed with archival inks on Hahnemuhle etching paper at Mark Markheim’s Studio in New York City by Bennett and Markheim.

Bennett had hoped to do a photo essay of the aging comandantes of the Cuban Revolution, and indeed found three who agreed to be photographed and are part of this exhibition. All three joined Fidel’s rebel army in the Sierra Maestra in 1957. Chino, who he photographed at his home in Siboney, on the edge of Havana, fought in Che Guevara’s column and was wounded in the battle of Santa Clara. Fernando fought in Camilo Cienfuegos’ column was photographed on his small pig farm just outside of Havana. Miguel, the only native Spaniard in Raúl Castro’s column, was one of the first Soviet-trained Cuban MIG pilots. Bennett found that "all three had the singular love of life and openness which I’ve come to associate with all Cubans."

But once in Cuba, Bennett wanted to photograph much more than the comandantes, and he found the same love of life and openness in the many people he encountered on the streets of Havana. His show is a glorious pastiche of color that almost screams "Look at me. Soy Cuba!" We feel as though we are walking through Havana’s streets, along the Malecón, through the streets of Old Havana where its gorgeous architectural past sits alongside its tough economic present; watching young men and women hang out together, laughing and talking. There is a rare intimacy in the photos, aided by the warmth of the watercolor process.

It has been said often that Havana is among the most photogenic cities in the world. This show bears that out, for Bennett, in only one visit, has managed to find its essence. He presents us with a lively and true portrait of this most special of cities, with all of its sublime contradictions.

George Bennett’s photographs have appeared in Sports Illustrated, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Newsweek and many other publications. His graphic photojournalistic style is represented in six books of his photographs including Mannequins (Knopf), Fighters and Real Men (Doubleday), Inside Track and Shooting Pool (Artisan), and Pugs in Public (STC), the last a collaboration with his wife, fashion stylist Kendall Farr.

Of his book Fighters, with text by Pete Hamill, The Wall St. Journal said: "These are compelling, revealing pictures . . . they make it evident that photojournalism can still find its way into areas of understanding beyond the reach of television and writers." Bennett’s ability to reveal the genuine aspects of a subject and tell a photographic story was equally evident in his 1996 black and white cover story for Sports Illustrated on NASCAR. The story helped introduce the sport to much of American outside the South. In 1997 Artisan published Inside Track: A Photodocumentary of NASCAR Stock Car Racing. ESPN’s Benny Parsons said on his radio show that this black and white photo book "changed the way a lot of people look at the sport."

In the 1980s Bennett began specializing in environmental (location) portraits which became the basis of his corporate career. He photographed Presidents Bush, Carter, Nixon and Clinton during this period, as well as many other leaders and personalities. Recently Bennett’s ability to provide spontaneity and authenticity has found a home with advertising clients such as RJR, Sony PlayStation, ESPN, Philip Morris, Coca Cola and others.