Thomas Ruff
Born 1958 • German
Thomas Ruff’s photography suggests the possibilities of his chosen medium, as he might use digital manipulation for one subject and antiquated darkroom techniques for another. Ruff works in series, creating defined bodies of work whose subjects include empty domestic interiors, appropriated interplanetary images captured by NASA, abstractions of modernist architecture, three–dimensional computer–generated Pop imagery, and obscured pornography. Ruff’s portraiture series of the early 1980s (his first to receive critical acclaim) featured groupings of large three-quarter portraits like so many passport photos; their enlarged scale offered a startling level of legibility. Though these, like many of his photographic series, seem to beg a sociocultural interpretation, perhaps the most constant feature in Ruff’s career is his disavowal of such a reading. Instead Ruff focuses on aesthetics and process, building an eclectic oeuvre not defined by genre, method, or theme, but rather by stark imagery, relative conceptual seriality of subject, and the clever subversion of the printed image. Thomas Ruff was born in 1958 in Zell am Harmersbach, Germany. From 1977 to 1985, he attended Staatliche Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf. Recent solo exhibitions include “l.m.v.d.r.—thomas ruff,” Museum Haus Esters, Haus Lange, Germany (2000, traveled to Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin; and Galeria Estrany De La Mota, Barcelona); Chabot Museum, The Netherlands (2001); “Photographs 1979 to Present,” Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden–Baden, Germany (2001, traveled to Museet for Samtidskunst, Norway; Museum Folkwang, Germany; Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Artium Centro–Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo, Spain; Museu Serralves, Portugal; Tate Liverpool, England; and Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Poland, through 2004); “Identificaciones,” Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2002); Hans–Thoma–Museum, Germany (2003); Busan Metropolitan Art Museum, South Korea (2003); “Neue Arbeiten,” Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin (2004); “Les Oeuvres de la Collection Pierre Huber,” Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Switzerland (2004); Sprengel Museum, Germany (2007); “Jpegs,” Moderna Museet, Sweden (2007); Mücsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest (2008); “Thomas Ruff. Schwarzwald. Landschaft,” Museum für Neue Kunst, Germany (2009); “Thomas Ruff. Stellar Landscapes,” Westfälisches Landesmuseum, Germany (2011); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2011); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2012); “Lichten,” S.M.A.K., Belgium (2014, traveled to Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Germany); and “Object Relations,” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2016). Ruff currently lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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A computer, tablet, and phone showing the native ArtCollection.io applications.

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ArtCollection.io is a cloud based solution that gives you access to your collection anywhere you have a secure internet connection. In addition to a beautiful web dashboard, we also provide users with a suite of mobile applications that allow for data synchronization and offline browsing. Feel confident in your ability to access your art collection anywhere around the world at anytime. Download ArtCollection.io today!

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Thomas Ruff
Born 1958 • German
Thomas Ruff’s photography suggests the possibilities of his chosen medium, as he might use digital manipulation for one subject and antiquated darkroom techniques for another. Ruff works in series, creating defined bodies of work whose subjects include empty domestic interiors, appropriated interplanetary images captured by NASA, abstractions of modernist architecture, three–dimensional computer–generated Pop imagery, and obscured pornography. Ruff’s portraiture series of the early 1980s (his first to receive critical acclaim) featured groupings of large three-quarter portraits like so many passport photos; their enlarged scale offered a startling level of legibility. Though these, like many of his photographic series, seem to beg a sociocultural interpretation, perhaps the most constant feature in Ruff’s career is his disavowal of such a reading. Instead Ruff focuses on aesthetics and process, building an eclectic oeuvre not defined by genre, method, or theme, but rather by stark imagery, relative conceptual seriality of subject, and the clever subversion of the printed image. Thomas Ruff was born in 1958 in Zell am Harmersbach, Germany. From 1977 to 1985, he attended Staatliche Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf. Recent solo exhibitions include “l.m.v.d.r.—thomas ruff,” Museum Haus Esters, Haus Lange, Germany (2000, traveled to Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin; and Galeria Estrany De La Mota, Barcelona); Chabot Museum, The Netherlands (2001); “Photographs 1979 to Present,” Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden–Baden, Germany (2001, traveled to Museet for Samtidskunst, Norway; Museum Folkwang, Germany; Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Artium Centro–Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo, Spain; Museu Serralves, Portugal; Tate Liverpool, England; and Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Poland, through 2004); “Identificaciones,” Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2002); Hans–Thoma–Museum, Germany (2003); Busan Metropolitan Art Museum, South Korea (2003); “Neue Arbeiten,” Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin (2004); “Les Oeuvres de la Collection Pierre Huber,” Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Switzerland (2004); Sprengel Museum, Germany (2007); “Jpegs,” Moderna Museet, Sweden (2007); Mücsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest (2008); “Thomas Ruff. Schwarzwald. Landschaft,” Museum für Neue Kunst, Germany (2009); “Thomas Ruff. Stellar Landscapes,” Westfälisches Landesmuseum, Germany (2011); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2011); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2012); “Lichten,” S.M.A.K., Belgium (2014, traveled to Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Germany); and “Object Relations,” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2016). Ruff currently lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Learn More
Sign up for a FREE account today!
Sign Up
Digitizing your art collection allows you to access it anywhere around the world.
A computer, tablet, and phone showing the native ArtCollection.io applications.

Available on any device, mac, pc & more

ArtCollection.io is a cloud based solution that gives you access to your collection anywhere you have a secure internet connection. In addition to a beautiful web dashboard, we also provide users with a suite of mobile applications that allow for data synchronization and offline browsing. Feel confident in your ability to access your art collection anywhere around the world at anytime. Download ArtCollection.io today!

App Store button to download iOS application.
Google Play Button to download Android application.