Artworks by Thomas Ruff at ArtWise on artnet

Thomas Ruff

(German, born 1958)

Thomas Ruff

Portrait (i. Graw), 2012

Price on Request

Thomas Ruff

No Title (Bathroom, Radisson SAS), 2009

Price on Request

Biography

Timeline

1958: Born in Harmersbach, Germany
1977 - 1985: Studied at National Academy of the Arts, Düsseldorf, Germany
1993: Study visit Villa Massimo, Rome, Italy
2000: Professorship at Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, Germany
2003: winner of Hans-Thoma Preis, Hans-Thoma Museum, Bernau, Germany
2006: winner of International Center of Photography Infinity Award, New York
2011: winner of PHotoEspaña 2011 Award, Madrid
2016: Artist of the Year, American Friends of Museums (AFIM), New York
: Lives and works in Duesseldorf, Germany

Exhibitions

2019: Thomas Ruff Selected Exhibitions in 2019:
Thomas Ruff: Serien, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: Tranforming Photography, David Zwirner, Hong Kong (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: tripe & flower.s, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich (solo exhibition)
Bauhaus and Photography: On Neues Sehen in Contemporary Art, Museum für Fotografie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Criteria, Galeria do Torreão Nascente de la Cordoaria, Lisbon
Highlights for a Future: De Collectie (1), Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent [collection display]
La Source, Villa Carmignac, Fondation Carmignac, Ile de Porquerolles, Hyères, France
PHOTO, Parkett Space Zurich, Zurich
Photographic Recall: Italian Rationalist Architecture in Contemporary German Art, UB Anderson Gallery, University at Buffalo, New York
There I Belong. Hammershøi by Elmgreen & Dragset, SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
2018: Thomas Ruff Selected Exhibitions in 2018:
Thomas Ruff, Galeria OMR, Mexico City (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: neg◊lapresmidi, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich (solo exhibition)
Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today, The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston [itinerary: University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan]
Black Hole. Art and Materiality from Informal to Invisible, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Bergamo, Italy
David Zwirner: 25 Years, David Zwirner, New York
Image Building: How Photography Transforms Architecture, Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York
Kleine Geschichte(n) der Fotografie/Small story(s) of Photography, Sprengel Museum, Hannover
No Two Alike: Karl Blossfeldt, Francis Bruguière, Thomas Ruff, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio [part of FotoFocus Biennial 2018]
Photography Spotlight, Victoria and Albert Museum, London [collection display]
Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, Tate Modern, London
Une collection de photographies, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels
2017: Thomas Ruff Selected Exhibitions in 2017:
Thomas Ruff, ARARIO Museum, Jeju Island, Korea (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff, Etablissement d'en face Projects, Brussels (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff, National Portrait Gallery, London (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff, Whitechapel Gallery, London (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: ++from the press++, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff : Machine + Energy, Mast Foundation, Bologna (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: New Works, Sprüth Magers, Berlin (solo exhibition)
COLORI. L’emozione dei COLORI nell’arte, Castello di Rivoli - Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin
Doublethink: Double vision, Pera Museum, Istanbul
I am a problem, Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK2), Frankfurt
Photographic Objects, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Photographs Become Pictures, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Prix Pictet: Space, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Remastered: The Art of Appropriation, Kunsthalle Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria
SNAP. Dokumentar og portrett. Fotografier fra samlingen/Documentary and Portrait. Photography from the Collection, Museet for samtidskunst, Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, Oslo
Variable Dimensions - Artists and Architecture, Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), Lisbon
You Are Looking At Something That Never Occurred, Zabludowicz Collection, London
2016: Thomas Ruff Selected Exhibitions in 2016:
Thomas Ruff: New Works, David Zwirner, London (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo [itinerary: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan] (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: Object Relations, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto [organized in collaboration with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto] (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: press++, David Zwirner, New York (solo exhibition)
Behold the Man, Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, The Netherlands
Electronic Superhighway, Whitechapel Gallery, London
Invisible Adversaries: Marieluise Hessel Collection, CCS Bard Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
KAT_A Fotografie Installation, KAT_A, Bad Honnef-Rhöndorf, Germany
Pandora’s Box - Another photography by Jan Dibbets, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Photography Reinvented: The Collection of Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Touch the Sky: Art and Astronomy, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York
Viaje alrededor del mundo, Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Guadalajara, Mexico
2015: Thomas Ruff Selected Exhibitions in 2015:
Thomas Ruff: nature morte, Gagosian Gallery, London (solo exhibition)
2050. A brief history of the future, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels [organized in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre, Paris
Après Eden/After Eden: The Walther Collection, La Maison Rouge, Paris
Cannibalism? On Appropriation in Art, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Colección Jumex, In Girum Imus Nocte et Consumimur Igni, Museo Jumex, Mexico City
Don’t Shoot the Painter. Paintings from the UBS Art Collection, GAM - Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Milano, Milan
Eye to Eye: Looking Beyond Likeness, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
FACES - between figures, portraits and masks, Neues Museum Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
FACES NOW. European Portrait Photography since 1990, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Future Present: Emanuel Hoffman Foundation. Contemporary Art from Classic Modernism to the Present Day, Schaulager, Basel
HE: The Hergott Shepard Photography Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor
The Inaugural Installation, The Broad, Los Angeles
In Conversation II: A Selection of Contemporary Artworks, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Lo que no se ve. Studium y Punctum en la Colección de Fotografía Contemporánea de Telefónica (y desde La Cámara Lúcida de Roland Barthes)/Sight Unseen. Studium and Punctum in the Telefónica Contemporary Photography Collection (and from the Camera Lucida of Roland Barthes, Museo de Arte Carillo Gil, Mexico City
Mijn Vlakke Land/My Flat Country: On photography and landscape, FotoMuseum Provincie Antwerpen (FoMu), Antwerp
Perfect Likeness: Photography and Composition, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Picturex : Proximus Art Collection, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium
Sense Uncertainty: A Private Collection, Kunsthaus Zürich
Souvenirs de Paris, Peter Freeman, Inc., New York
Under the Clouds: From Paranoia to the Digital Sublime, Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal
The Way We Live Now, Modernist Ideologies at Work, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
2014: Thomas Ruff Selected Exhibitions in 2014:
Thomas Ruff: Lichten, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent [itinerary: Kunsthalle Düsseldorf] (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: ma.r.s. and negatives, Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: new work, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: photograms, TOLOT/heuristic SHINONOME, Tokyo [organized by Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo] (solo exhibition)
Thomas Ruff: photograms and negatives, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills (solo exhibition)
Aspects of the Self: Portraits of Our Times, Center for the Arts, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
Early Works (Katharina Fritsch, Rodney Graham, Aldo Rossi, Thomas Ruff, Anri Sala, Wiebke Siem, Jeff Wall et al.), Johnen Galerie, Berlin
Intimität/Intimacy, Galerie der Stadt Remscheid
Las lágrimas las cosas/The Tears of Things, Centro de Arte Visuales Fundación Helga de Alvear, Cáceres, Spain
Magnus - Scènes de l’imaginaire automate, Villa Bernasconi, Geneva
Man in the Mirror, Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels
(Mis)Understanding Photography: Works and Manifestos, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
Propaganda für die Wirklichkeit, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
Secret Passions: Private Flemish Collections, lille3000, Lille, France
Sleeping Beauty. Works from the Collection, Musée départemental d’art contemporain de Rochechouart, France
Somos Libres II: Works from the Mario Testino Collection, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin
The Walther Collection (part of Les Rencontres d’Arles 2014), Espace Van Gogh, Arles, France
: ein drittel weiß, KIT. Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf, Germany
: Datascapes, Foundation Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
: Visionen. Atmosphären der Veränderung, MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany
: Colección Helga de Alvear: El Arte de Presente, Centro Centro Palacio de Cibiles, Madrid, Spain
: Think First, Shoot Later: Photography from the MCA Collection, MCA Chicago, Chicago, USA
: Staring Back, Museum of International Taipei University of Education ,Taipei, China
: m.a.r.s., Galeria Helga de Alvear, Mardrid, Spain (solo)
2013: Photograms and m.a.r.s., David Zwirner, New York, USA (solo)
: in progress. Werke aus der mumok Sammlung, MUMOK Wien, Vienna, Austria
2012 - 2013: Pop Art Accrochage, Fluegel-Roncak Gallery, Nuremberg, Germany
: Thomas Ruff m.a.r.s., Gagosian Gallery, London, England (solo)
: Stellar Landscapes, LWL – Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster, Germany (solo)
: Thomas Ruff nudes, Gagosian Gallery, London, England (solo)
: Volume!, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
: Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, Germany (solo)
2012: The Living Boxes, Castello di Rivoli – Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli, Italy
: Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (solo)
2011: MCA DANN: Thomas Ruff, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, USA (solo)
: Thomas Ruff 'Weissenhof Siedlungg, Stuttgart 1927, Mies van der Rohe, Lorena Ruiz de Villa, Barcelona, Spain (solo)
: SUMMER SHOW, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
: Through the Looking Brain, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
: Summer Interval 11 – Text + Image, Galerie Bugdahn und Kaimer, Düsseldorf, Germany
: A Tribute to Photography, Primo Marella Gallery Milan, Milan, Italy
: Almost Tangible, Arario Beijing, Beijing, China
: De-Natured: German Art from Joseph Beuys to Martin Kippenberger, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, USA
: Weltraum: Die Kunst und ein Traum, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
2010 - 2011: EXPOSED, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Hyper Real, MUMOK Vienna, Austria
The Lucid Evidence, MMK Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Auswertung der Flugdaten. Kunst der 80er, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
: Look at me. Faces and Gazes in Art 1969-2009, Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
David Zwirner, New York, NY (solo)
Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (solo)
Johnen Galerie, Berlin, Germany (solo)
21st Century: Art in the First Decade, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Atopia: Art and the City in the 21st Century, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
In The Vernacular, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Playlist - Moderna Museet c/o Jönköpings Iäns Museum, Jönköpings Iäns Museum, Jönköping, Sweden
: Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey (solo)
: Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany (solo)
: Thomas Ruff, David Zwirner, New York, USA (solo)
2010: Thomas Ruff in Prato, Italy (solo)
2009: PRUNE - abstracting reality, foam - Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands
Pictures of Pictures, Galerie Andreas Binder, Munich, GEemany (curated by Hubertus Butin)
Urban Spaces, Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Das Porträt. Fotografie als Bühne - Von Robert Mapplethorpe bis Nan Goldin, Kunsthalle Vienna
Thomas Ruff – Schwarzwald. Landschaft, Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg/Breisgau, Germany (cat.) (solo)
Thomas Ruff – Oberflächen, Tiefen, Kunsthalle Vienna, Austria (cat.) (solo)
Thomas Ruff, Castello di Rivoli, Rivoli Torino, Italy (cat.) (solo)
A retrospective, Mücsarnok – Kunsthalle Budapest, Hungary (solo)
Die Düsseldorfer Schule. Photographien 1970-2008 aus der Sammlung Lothar Schirmer, Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, Munich, Germany
Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Listen Darling, The World is Yours, Ellipse Foundation, Alcoitão, Portugal
Stilles Leben - Wenn die Dinge träumen, Münchner Stadtmuseum, Munich, Germany
The order of things, MuHKA Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium
2008 - 2009: Thomas Ruff retrospektíf, Kunsthalle Budapest, Budapest, Hungary (solo)
2008: zycles + cassini, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
: Photo20esimo, Museo d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
REAL. Fotografien aus der Sammlung der DZ BANK, Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
La photographie à Düsseldorf, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Visions Nocturnes, Centre d’art contemporain, Noisy-le-Sec, France
Licht-Bilder: Von Alfred Stieglitz bis Andreas Gursky, BA-CA Kunstforum, Vienna, Austria
Blasted Allegories, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland
Visite – Von Gerhard Richter bis Rebecca Horn, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Germany
Photography on Photography: Reflections on the Medium since 1960, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Art is for the Spirit: Works from the USB Art Collection, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
German Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Als wäre nichts gesagt, Museen Haus Lange - Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany
Il Futuro del Futurismo, Galleria d´Arte Moderna, Bergamo, Italy
Thomas Ruff - zycles + cassini, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
Between Memory and History: From the Epic to the Everyday, mocca - Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, ON
Building Pictures, MoCP - The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Auktion 26, Lehr - Auktionshaus und Galerie, Berlin, Germany
: Das Sprengelprojekt, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
Spectacular City - Architekturfotografie, NRW - Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf, Germany
What does the jellyfish want? Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
David Zwirner, New York, NY(solo)
Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, Germany (solo)
The 1st at Moderna: Thomas Ruff, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (solo)
: Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, Germany (solo)
2007: David Zwirner, New York, USA (solo)
: the 1st at Moderna: Thomas Ruff, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden (solo)
2006: Körper, Gesicht und Seele, Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria
Ecotopia, International Center of Photography, New York, NY
Liebe zum Licht, Kunstmuseum Celle / Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst / Kunstmuseum, Bochum, Germany
Abstract Art Now - Floating Forms, Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
50 JPG, Centre de la Photographie, Geneva, Switzerland
Körper, Gesicht und Seele, Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria
Nature Attitudes, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
Click/Doubleclick – das dokumentarische Moment, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
BOZAR Palais des Beaux-Arts/Paleis voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels, Belgium
Bibliotheca Insomnia – Das Digitale Bauhaus II. Meisterwerke der Medienkunst aus der Sammlung des ZKM Karlsruhe, Bauhaus Universität, Weimar, Germany
Thomas Ruff – The Grammar of Photography, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa (Galleria in Piazza San Marco und Palazzetto Tito), Venice, Italy
Helga de Alvear – Conceitos para uma colecção, CCB Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal
2005: L’esperienza dell’arte, 51. Biennale di Venezia, Padiglione Italia - Giardini, Venice, Italy
Atlantic & Bucharest: Photography, Film and Video: New Acquisitions, Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
Regarding Terror: The RAF Exhibition, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
Rückkehr ins All, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
PILLish: Harsh Realities and Gorgeous Destinations, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO
Friedrich Christian Flick Collection, Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
JPEG’s, David Zwirner New York, NY(solo)
Surfaces/Paradise, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, Arnheim, The Netherlands
New Work, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY
Nature Attitudes, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
Friedrich Christian Flick Collection, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
PILLish: Harsh Realities and Gorgeous Destinations, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO
Atlantic & Bucharest: Photography, Film and Video: New Acquisitions, Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
2004: Yet Untitled - Sammlung Bernd F. Künne, Det Nationale Fotomuseum Kopenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Relating to Photography, Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt / Main, Germany
Thomas Ruff, Arario Gallery, Chungham, Korea (solo)
Telefonica's Contemporary Photography Collection, Fundacion Telefonica, Madrid, Spain
Thomas Ruff. Les oeuvres de la collection Pierre Huber (Tour - De ´tours de Babel), Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany (solo)
German Art. Deutsche Kunst aus amerikanischer Sicht, Werke aus der Sammlung des Saint Louis Art Museum. Städelsches Kunstinstitut and Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany (cat.)
Relating to Photography, Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt, Germany
Yet Untitled - Photographs from the B. Künne Collection, Det Nationale Fotomuseum Copenhagen (cat.)
Multiple Räume (1): Seele - Kunstruktion des Innerlichen in der Kunst, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (cat.)
Der neue Blick in die Stadt, Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy
Wirklich wahr! Realitätsversprechen von Fotografien, Ruhrlandmuseum, Essen, Germany (cat.)
2003: Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt, Germany (solo)
Hans-Thoma-Museum, Bernau, Germany (cat.)
Pusan Metropolitan Museum, Pusan, Korea (solo)
nudes und maschinen, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany (cat.) (solo)
Centre Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland (cat.)
Thomas Ruff 1979 to the Present, Tate Liverpool, UK (cat.) (solo)
Stranger in the Village, MOMA curates in Guild Hall, East Hampton, New York, NY
Projektraum 3000, Kunst-&Ausstellungshalle Deutschland, Bonn, Germany
Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Serralves, Porto, Portugal
Sex, Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Moving Pictures, Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
Stranger in the Village, MOMA kuratiert in Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
Imperfect Innocence: The Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection, Contemporary Museum Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
Thomas Ruff, Hans-Thoma-Museum Bernau, Germany (cat.) (solo)
Thomas Ruff. Fotografias, 1979 - Hoje, Museu Serralves Porto, Portugal (solo)
2002: Thomas Ruff, Museum Folkwang Essen, Germany
Sao Paulo Biennal, Sao Paulo, Brazil (solo)
l.m.v.d.r., Emotional site (Sagacho Shokuryo Building) Tokyo, Japan (solo)
Identificaciones, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico
Thomas Ruff. Fotografien 1979 - heute. Atrium-Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo Vitoria-Gasteiz / Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin / Museet for Samtidskunst Oslo / Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich (cat.) (solo)
Paises - 25th Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Startkapital, K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany
Private/Corporate, DaimlerCrysler Contemporary ,Berlin, Germany
heute bis jetzt. Zeitgenössische Fotografie aus Düsseldorf, museum kunst palast, Dusseldorf, Germany
Thomas Ruff, Photographs: 1979 to present. Irish Museum Of Moder Art, Dublin, Ireland
Identificaciones, Museo Tamayo, Mexico (solo)
Mies Van Der Rohe 1907-1938, CaixaForum, Barcelona, Spain (solo)
2001: The Anagrammatical Body. ZKM. Karlsruhe, Germany (solo)
100 al 2000: il Secolo della Fotoarte, Photology, Bologna, Italy (solo)
Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid, Spain (solo)
Enmanuel Hoffmann-Stiftung, Basel, Switzerland
Close up, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
Picturing Media: Mordern Photography from the Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Collaborations with parkett-1984 to Now, MoMA, New York, NY
STRATEGIES - Fotokunst der 90er Jahre aus der Sammlung Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Kunsthalle Kiel
Big Nothing, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (cat.)
Galeria Helga de Alverar, Madrid, Spain
Mies in Berlin, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Chabot Museum Rotterdam, Netherlands (solo)
Thomas Ruff. Fotografien 1997 - heute, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Germany (solo)
2000: Museum Haus Lange und Haus Esters Krefeld, Germany (solo)
Nudes, Zwirner & Wirth, New York, NY (solo)
How you look at it. Fotografien des 20. Jahrhunderts, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
Deutsche Kunst in Moskau, Central House of Artist, Moscow, Russia
LMVDR, Haus Lange – Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt, Germany
Picturing Media: Modern Photographs from Permanent Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Ansichten - Aussichten - Einsichten, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig (cat.), Germany
Der Anagrammatische Körper - der Körper und seine mediale Kostruktion, ZKM Karlsruhe
Dans le champ des étoiles - les photographes et le ciel (1850-2000), Musée d'Orsay Paris / Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
Rémy Zaugg-Portrait d'un ami, Jean-Paul Jungo, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
La Arquitectura sin Sombra. Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville, Spain
l. m. v. d. r. 2 , Fördererkreis Krefelder Kunstmuseen, Germany
1999: Cosmos. Del Romanticismo a la Vanguardia, 1801-2001. Centro de Cultura Contemporánea, Barcelona, Spain
Das Versprechen der Fotografie, Kestner Gesellschaft Hannover, PS 1 New York, NY
COSMOS: from Romanticism to the Avant-Garde, Museum of Fine Arts Montreal; Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; Palazzo Grassi Venedig, Venice, Italy
CHRONOS & KAIROS, Museum Fridericianum Kassel, Germany
das xx jahrhundert - ein jahrhundert kunst in deutschland, Altes Museu und Neue Nationalgalerie, Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin
Transmute, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
MISSING LINK - Menschen-Bilder in der Fotografie, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Pro Lidice, Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
Digitale Photographie, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
Von Beuys bis Cindy Sherman. Sammlung Lothar Schirmer, Kunsthalle Bremen / Lehnbachhaus, Munich, Germany
Apposite Opposites: Photography from the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL
Transmute, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
1998: Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Toronto, Canada
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt, Germany
PHOTOIMAGE: Printmaking 60s to 90s, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Inglenook, Feigen Contemporary, New York, NY
Wounds: between democracy and redemption in contemporary art, Moderna Museet Stockholm
Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo, Japan
1997: Thomas Ruff - Kleine Porträts, Dryphoto Prado (solo)
Geschlossene Gesellschaft, Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Kunst der Gegenwart, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany
Der klare Blick, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Engel, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Soweit der Erdkreis reicht, Museum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Kleve, Germany
Standort Deutschland, Schloß Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
Die Epoche der Moderne - Kunst im 20. Jahrhundert, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin
Oeuvres 1979-97, Centre national de la photographie, Paris, France
Galeria Estrany – de la Mola, Barcelona, Spain
1996: Portraits, Houses, Stars, Night, Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA
JURASSIC technologies - revenant, 10th Biennale of Sydney, Australia
Distanz und Nähe, Kawasaki City Museum, Yokohama, Japan
Projekt 8, TOTAL Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
by night, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France
Zuspiel, Sprengelmuseum Hannover (with Georg Winter), Germany
Portraits, Houses, Stars, Night, Fraenkel Gallery San Francisco, CA (solo)
ROOSEUM-Center of Contemporary Art Malmö, Sweden (solo)
1995: Deutscher Pavillon Biennale Venice (Cat.) (solo)
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Hamburg, Germany (solo)
Szenenwechsel VIII, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt / Main, Germany
Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany
Westchor - Ostportal, Galerie im Marstall Berlin; Kunsthalle Dresden, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
Fondation Cartier: A Collection, National Museum of Contemporary Art ,Seoul, South Korea
Arquitectures plurals, Centre de Cultura, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Bremen; Lindenaumuseum in Altenburg; Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Hamburg, Germany (solo)
1994: Galerie Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne, Germany
White Cube, London, England (solo)
The Act of Seeing (urban space), Fondation pour l'Architecture, Brussels, Belgium
Fine Arts Centre; International Art Gallery Peking; National Museum of Modern Art, Osaka, Japan
Contempporary Art Kyongju; Pao Galleries Hong Kong Arts Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Junge Deutsche Kunst der 90er Jahre aus NRW, Sonje Museum, Korea
Aura, Wiener Secession, Vienna, Austria
1m = c. 299 792 458 -1s, Arteleku Donastia-San Sebastian, Spain
Dum Umeni Mesta Brna Brno, Fotoforum West Axams, Czech Republic
Bilder - Aspekte deutscher Fotografie nach 45, Fotogalerie, Vienna
1993: Nationalmuseum Krakau; Gallery of Modern Art Lubljana (cat.)
Distanz und Nähe, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin; Uluv Exhibition Hall, Prague, Czech Republic
Bergen Kunstforening; Museet for Fotokunst Odense, Denmark
Photographs from the Real World, Lillehammer Art Museum, Lillehammer, Norway
Romaeuropa, Palazzo Ruspuli, Rome, Italy
Konstruktion, Zitat - Kollektive Bilder in der Fotografie, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Germany
Die Arena des Privaten, Kunstverein München, Munich, Germany
Image First: Eight Photographers for the '90s, Laura Carpenter Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
1992: Einsamkeit. Un sentimiento alemán, Fundacion Caja de Pensiones, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain
Galerie Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Mai 36, Zurich, Switzerland
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Hamburg, Germany (cat.) (solo)
Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany (cat.)
Qui, Quoi, Où, Museé d' Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France (cat.)
More than one photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (cat.)
Photography in contemporary art: 1960 to the present, Dallas Museum of Art; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; Museum Ludwig Cologne, Germany
Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth; Museum Ludwig Cologne, Germany (cat.)
1991: Metropolis, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany (cat.)
The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Swizterland
In anderen Räumen, Museum Haus Lange und Haus Esters Krefeld, Germany
Aus der Distanz, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen Düsseldorf, Germany (cat.)
Architektur von Herzog & de Meuron, Architekturbienale Venedig; Magasin Grenoble; Museum Wiesbaden; Art Center de Singel Antwerpen; Center for Architecture Athen (cat.)
Kunstverein Braunschweig, Galerie d. Stadt Sindelfingen, Germany
7 Women, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
Typologies: Nine Contemporary Photographers, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA
1990: La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu, Chateau d'Oiron, Oiron, France
Museum of Modern Art, Berkley, CA
Weiter Sehen, Museum Haus Lange und Haus Esters Krefeld, Germany (cat.)
Portrait d' une collection d' Art Contemporain, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Belgium
To be or not to be, Centre d' Art de Santa Monica, Barcelona, Spain; Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany (cat.)
Porträts, Häuser, Sterne, Magasin centre national d’art contemporain de Grenoble; KH Zurich (solo)
1989: Porträts, Häuser, Sterne, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (solo)
Cornerhouse, Manchester, England (solo)
Mit dem Fernrohr durch die Kunstgeschichte, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (cat.)
Tenir l' image à distance, Museum d'Art Contemporain Montreal, Canada (cat.)
1. Internationale Foto-Triennale Esslingen, Villa Merkel e.V. Esslingen, Germany
Galerie Philip Nelson, Lyon, France
Contemporary European Art, First Bank Skyway Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Mediated Knot, Robin Lockett Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988: Bilder - Denda, van Ofen, Ruff, Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany (cat.)
Fotografen, APAC - Centre d'art Contemporain, Nevers, France
Centre d' Art Contemporain, Museé de Carouge, Genf, Switzerland
Aperto 88, Biennale von Venedig, Venice, Italy
BiNationale, Kunstverein, Kunsthalle & Kunstsammlung Dusseldorf, Germany
Museum of Fine Arts and ICA Boston, MA (cat.)
Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Toronto, Canada (solo)
Museum Schloß Hardenberg, Velbert + Portikus Frankfurt, Germany (solo)
1987: Foto/Realismen, Villa Dessauer Bamberg, Germany
KV Munich / Grundkreditbank, Berlin
Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, Germany
Galerie Johnen & Schöttle, Cologne, Germany
1986: Galerie Philip Nelson, Lyon, France
Reste des Authentischen, Museum Folkwang Essen, Photographers Gallery, New York, NY (cat.)
1985: Das Auge des Künstlers - Das Auge der Kamera, Pinakothek Ravenna, Kunstverein Frankfurt, Germany (cat.)
Künstlerische Photographie des 20. Jahrhunderts, Universitätsmuseum, Marburg, Germany
1984: Galerie Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, Germany
1983: Laputa, Gutenbergstrasse 62 e. V., Stuttgart, Germany
1982: Work by young german photographers, Art Galaxy, New York, NY
Ausstellung B, Künstlerwerkstätten Lothringer Straße, Munich, Germany (cat.)

Public Collections

: FAIF Collection, Zurich, Switzerland
: Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent
: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
: Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville
: National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen
: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
: The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
: Moderna Museet, Stockholm
: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
: Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
: Honolulu Museum of Art
: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
: Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin
: Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg, Austria
: Dallas Museum of Art
: Colección Jumex, Mexico City
: Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain
: The Broad, Los Angeles
: Art Institute of Chicago
: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
: Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Tochigi, Japan
: Dr. Nils Forsblom Collection, California

Literature

2010: Brave New World / Le Meilleur des Mondes - Du point de vue de la Collection Mudam, Mudam Luxembourg
2009 - 2010: Die Düsseldorfer Schule - Photographien 1970-2008 aus der Sammlung Lothar Schirmer, Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste, Munich, Germany
: Look at Me. Faces and Gazes in Art 1999-2009, Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Lugano, Switzerland

Thomas Ruff

(German, born 1958)

Thomas Ruff

Thomas Ruff

Biography

Timeline

Exhibitions

Public Collections

Literature

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