ROSS BERTRAM

“All art is a kind of subconscious madness expressed in terms of sanity.”

Welcome to the world of Ross Bertram (1912-1992), one of the most gifted sleight-of-hand artists of the twentieth century.

I met Ross while I was still in high school, and shortly after the death of my own father. How fortunate was I. He became my mentor, both within magic and outside of it, and I became his protégé.

As you will learn from this exhibition—originally developed as an article for Genii  (March 2003)—I spent hundreds of hours over the next decade in his company.

We talked about magic, about family, and about life. He was always there, and ready to address any of my questions.

Hopefully, this exhibition will introduce a new generation to his magic.

—David Ben