ART-PRESENTATION: Thomas Ruff-Nature Morte

The German Photographer Thomas Ruff uses a wide range of old and new technologies, including night vision, hand-tinting, and stereoscopy, to reconceptualize architectural, astrological, pornographic, and portrait photography and to expand the limitations of the medium . In his exhibition entitled “Nature Morte” at the Gagosian Gallery London, he explores the photographic negative to create surreal, spectral images of plants with amazing dimensionality, intensity, and depth.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Gagosian Gallery Archive

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. “Nature Morte” continues Ruff’s ongoing exploration of the dynamics of positive and negative imagery. By reversing the role of the negative as a means to an end, Ruff challenges the conventions of photography while at the same time proposes an engaging alternative viewing experience. In his recent work, Ruff engages with the photogram, the cameraless technique used by Man Ray, László Moholy-Nagy, and others in the early 20th century. Both the objects and the light in Ruff’s photograms derive from a virtual darkroom built by a custom-made software program. Ruff’s recent negatives extend his explorations of the photogram, in which he used positive and negative imagery to create a mesmerizing photographic world of nebulous shadows, spheres, zigzags, and hard edges against richly colored backgrounds. Reversing the negative’s role as a means to an end, the master image from which the print is created. The size of the prints (29 x 22 cm) roughly corresponds to the scale of the glass plates that could be exposed with a large camera during the 19th century.

Info:Nature Morte, Gagosian Gallery, 17-19 Davies Street, London, Duration: 6/8-26/9/15, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri:10:00-18:00, www.gagosian.com