The photograms and ma.r.s. works presented in this exhibition continue his interest in visual verisimilitude, with each series exploring the mutability and material presence of the photographic image. The photograms depict abstract shapes, lines, and spirals in
seemingly random formations with varying degrees of transparency and illumination. Their compositions are reminiscent of artistic experimentation with camera-less photography in
the 1920s, where objects were placed directly on photo-sensitive paper and exposed to light, creating white or gray silhouettes wherever they made contact. Cherished in particular by Surrealists, such photograms were governed by unanticipated light effects, allowing for the element of chance in the final result. Yet both the objects and the light in Ruff’s “photograms” derive from a virtual darkroom built by a custom-made software program, giving the artist more control over the outcome.
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illustrations: 1_ "ma.r.s. séries" (extract), 2013, Thomas Ruff /// 2_phg02, 2012, Thomas Ruff
