German Photographer Thomas Ruff in New Zealand

In a nationwide series of lectures, the internationally renowned German photographer Thomas Ruff will talk about his work, some of which is concurrently in an exhibition at the Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland.

About Thomas Ruff

Thomas Ruff, born in 1958, is among the most important German photographers. Ruff studied photography from 1977 to 1885 with Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Art Academy), where he also taught Photography from 2000 to 2005. His work has been exhibited worldwide and is featured in several important art galleries.

During his studies in Düsseldorf, Ruff developed his method of conceptual serial photography. His early photographs show the interiors of German living quarters, followed by similar views of buildings and portraits of his friends. These are typically shown with emotionless expressions, in very large, high-resolution passport-style portraits. His distant and objective style clearly reveals the influence of the Düsseldorf documentary photography.

From 1989, Ruff has increasingly used pictures not taken by himself. His series "Sterne" (stars), showing depictions of the night sky, was based on archived images found by the artist in a European observatory. In the years from 1992 to 1995, Ruff produced night images of exteriors and buildings using the same night vision infrared technology originally developed for the military. In 2003 he published a photographic collection of "Nudes", based on pornographic images taken from the internet, which were then digitally processed and obscured.

His most recent series, "zycles" and "cassini" draw from scientific sources. "zycles" are based on 3D renderings of mathematical curves, and the "cassini" works on photographic captures of Saturn taken by NASA.

Some of his work is concurrently shown in an exhibition at the Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland 26 March - 24 April 2010.