Thomas Ruff, *1958

A detached, concentrated viewpoint is characteristic of Thomas Ruff's work. A pupil of Bernd and Hilla Becher, he uses highly objective motif observation and reproduction to convey a neutral, direct view of his subject. His images are sometimes digitally edited to remove obstructing details, but he is often satisfied with a single shot. Now a photographer of international significance, Ruff celebrated his earliest major success in the 1980s with his series of monumental portraits. "Nudes", a recent series of works based on images downloaded from the internet, caused an outcry and triggered a great deal of controversy and debate. A substantial collection of Ruff's works dating from various years is on show at the New Museum in Nuremberg. His photographs are displayed at the Kunsthalle in Hamburg together with works by Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth and Candida Höfer, also Becher pupils. The Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin also has important works by Ruff in its collection.