Thomas Ruff - Black Forest photographer from world format

Quite high on the list of the most respected artists can be found a German photo artist who says of himself that in his school days he "had nothing to do with art" .

Thomas Ruff at a glance

1980s, Thomas Ruff , born in 1958, obtained international recognition as an outstanding member of the Düsseldorf school, an illustrious community of young photographers who were trained under the guidance of Bernd and Hilla Becher. This group shaped the photographic medium with its experimental approach and its examination of the rapidly changing technologies of photography.

Ruff created a striking break with the style of his mentors and developed an unmistakable perspective within conceptual photography . His work is characterized by the targeted use of colors and the creative processing of starting recordings - initially by manual retouching techniques and later by innovative digital processes. By lifting the photo print to a monumental level, it merges the boundaries between photography and painting.

In clearly defined series, Ruff unfolds its techniques for the profound analysis of different photographic genres, including portrait, nude, landscape and architectural photography . His comprehensive examination of the "grammar of photography" has not only exerted a significant influence on subsequent generations of photographers, but also explains the multitude of his topics and the immense range of technical means used to develop its works - from the use of outdated devices to state -of -the -art computer simulations and all intermediate levels.

Thomas Ruff's work invites you to question the often invisible mechanisms behind photography and takes the viewer into a fascinating world of image production that is both intellectually stimulating and artistically enriching.

Childhood and Ruffs path to photo art

Thomas Ruff was born in Zell am Harmersbach in 1958, a small town on the edge of the Black Forest. As the fourth of six children, he enjoys an eventful childhood in the small town, in which the parents left the children rather large freedom and otherwise promoted them as much as possible, which at Thomas Ruff initially leads to a visit to the Mathematical and Science Gymnasium in the 1.5 hour train journey away.

In his last three years at the high school, Thomas Ruff had no art lessons due to a lack of teachers, he was interested in astronomy and acquired his first camera at 16, whose operation he learned in a adult education course. Photography will be his hobby , after graduating from high school, Ruff wanted to study either astronomy or photography.

Photography appeared to him as the lighter version of actually becoming the idea of ​​becoming a travel photographer, he applied immediately after graduating from high school in 1977 at the Düsseldorf Art Academy , then the only academy in Germany that offered a photo class. He sent his twenty most beautiful small image slides to apply, which were assessed by the famous photographer Bernd Becher , who had just taken over a professorship for photography at the art academy.

Bernd Becher chose Ruff, and he completed his photography studies below him and his wife Hilla Becher , a also recognized photographer who worked with her husband in the training of the students. Both led an almost legendary artist class of photography, which were later often referred to as a “cup school” and from which, in addition to Ruff, other internationally outstanding representatives of German photography such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Jörg Sasse and Axel Hütte emerged.

During his studies, Thomas Ruff came with art and artists for the first time, he had to learn to see completely new and recognize that his beautiful landscapes created so far were no other than clichés to be considered. This initially led him to a huge crisis ("of course", as he later said), he could not create anything for a year, but in this crisis he found it from the pure interest in the photo for the artistic view of photography.

Now he began to make art himself, photographs that were created from an intelligent examination of his surroundings. Ruff attaches great importance to authenticity in his work, which feeds the ability to see and photograph things regardless of given opinions.

He took the time to find his own way in his studies and afterwards that it was good, soon shows up by one and then speaking relatively early by one and then other galleries who want to make exhibitions with a freens. So it went on, Ruff never had to deal with the marketing side of art or had to make friends.

First work and international breakthrough

The first work that attracts the attention of the gallery owners belong to small -format portraits with a white background, Ruff exhibited in 1986 in the French villa ban and receives the means to have the first portraits in a large format made. These were shown in the Cologne Gallery Johnen & Schöttle in 1987, one thing is bought for the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt, which opened in 1991.

These portraits of Ruff help the international breakthrough , you and his new series houses will be shown at important international exhibitions (“Aperto” in Venice, “Binationale” in Düsseldorf and Boston) 1980s Public and private collectors now show so much interest in his works that he can start over -intensive projects, in 1989 he started his series stars, for which he shops over 1,000 negative scientific star shots.

Many contemporary events find their expression in his work: in 1991 he responds with the “blue eyes” to the French art critic, who compared his portrait series with the art of socialist realism and fascism. In 1992 the TV pictures from the Gulf War Thomas Ruff stimulate nights , some of these recordings are exhibited at Documeta IX .

In 1993 a scholarship follows in Rome, in 1994 two series that process a wide variety of techniques of photographer techniques, in 1999 Ruff was commissioned by the Architecture couple Herzog & de Meuron to design their design of the library of the University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde.

In 1995 Thomas Ruff in the German Pavilion at the Biennale in Venice , in 1996 he dealt with different political events in the series.

At the end of the 1990s, Thomas Ruff started another artistic journey in the field of photography. In contrast to many photographers, he did not draw his image inspiration out of his own recordings, but discovered her on the Internet, where he hesitated directly with people because of his shyness.

The Internet was already established at the end of the 1990s. I entered terms such as 'nude photography' and 'porn', and these pages immediately appeared. It seems that the oldest trade in the world has recognized the advantage of the Internet early on ”

Ruff remembers in an interview with Deutschlandfunk Kultur*.

Ruff transformed the pictures found to pixelated works of art that developed a very own aesthetics. He was not only concerned with presenting "heterosexual and male view of the female body" Rather, he followed a democratic approach by depicting all sexual preferences and practices including their diversity.

Through his work, he encourages to deal more intensively with the different facets of human sexuality and to redefine the boundaries between art and everyday perception.

In 1999 he started with his famous “Nudes” , to which he uses pornography pages from the Internet as the starting material. Various building recordings (Mies van der Rohe and others) become the “LMVDR” , again for Herzog & de Meuron, he equips the bottom of the “five farms” in Munich.

In 1999, Thomas Ruff then received a professorship at the State Academy of Düsseldorf , where (after a short interlude of Jeff Wall ) from 2000 to 2006 he headed the “cup class” , during this time he also acquired the successor together with Andreas Gursky, Axel Hütte and Laurenz Berges a factory area in Düsseldorf by moving into a large studio.

The Internet remains an issue, also in the “Substrate” and “JPEGS” series , which have been created since 2000, the photo band “Nudes” appeared in 2003 with a text by Michel Houellebecq. But not only, “The explosive object” is created in between, “Stellar Landscapes” are shown in Münster , in which 60 pictures of Mars (from the NASA) were edited in such a way that one has the feeling of looking at Mars from an aircraft.

Like Mars, the series "Cassini" shows references to his childhood sweetheart astronomy, here extraordinary and really aliens are processed by Saturn and its moons that were made by the spatial probe of this name.

An overview of Thomas Ruffs impressive works was shown in the Haus der Kunst in Munich in spring 2012.

The following video shows a 30-minute interview with the artist, carried out by Thomas Weski in the Munich House of Art:

Exhibitions around the globe

Ruff's works were presented in numerous solo exhibitions in renowned institutions around the world, including

• The Whitechapel Gallery in London (2017);
• the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (2016; traveled to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan);
• The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto (2016);
• The Stedelijk Museum Voor Actuele Art (SMAK) in Gent (2014);
• the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2014);
• The House of Art in Munich (2012);
• the LWL state museum for art and cultural history in Münster (2011);
• The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga in Spain (2011);
• the Castello di Rivoli in Turin (2009);
• The Museum of New Art in Freiburg, Germany (2009);
• The Kunsthalle Vienna in Vienna (2009);
• The Műcsarnok Kunsthalle in Budapest (2008);
• the Moderna Museet in Stockholm (2007);
• The Sprengel Museum Hanover in Germany (2007);
• The Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain in Geneva (2004);
• as well as the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City (2002).

In 2018, Thomas Ruff was presented in the exhibition "Photography Spotlight" in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which celebrated the opening of the new photography Center of the museum. On the occasion of this special inauguration, the artist created a new work entitled "Tripe", which impressively demonstrated his masterly ability to innovate.

A comprehensive retrospective of his work took place from 2020 to 2021 in the K20 art collection in North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf. The large solo exhibition "Thomas Ruff: After.images - Works 1989–2020" , curated by Martin Germann, offered visitors a fascinating insight into Ruffs Oeuvre and not only united the impressive work from the series "Tableaux Chinois" , but also fifteen other series that were built in 1989 and which in the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung were presented.

In 2022, the exhibition " Thomas Ruff: Méta photography" in the Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Saint-Étienne Métropole (Mamc) in France was also shown. Later, in the same year, the Kunsthalle Bielefeld was marked by a duo exhibition in Germany, which presented works by Thomas Ruff and James Welling. As a result, art -loving visitors are given the opportunity to experience two different artistic perspectives on the medium of photography and understand their development.

Thomas Ruff in David Zwirner's gallery

gallery David Zwirner since 2000 . During this period, the artist was able to celebrate a total of twelve solo exhibitions in the various rooms of the gallery. This includes several impressive presentations in New York (in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2022), as well as outstanding exhibitions in London (2016), Hong Kong (2019) and Paris (2021). Each of these events not only offered a deep insight into Ruff's artistic work, but also contributed to the increased appreciation of its art at an international level.

"Thomas Ruff: Expériences Lumineuses" announced in London for January 2025

Further information and another large selection of his works can be found on Artnet - Thomas Ruff . Also in our online gallery you will find a small selection of colored lithographs and Giclée prints by the great German photographer.

Thomas Ruff's works regularly achieve record prices at auctions; His most expensive picture from the "Stars" was auctioned for impressive 180,000 euros.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

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