Thomas Ruff

oversized chromogenic print, flush-mounted, framed, signed, dated, and editioned '1/5' in ink and with Buhl Collection and MAI 36 Galerie labels on the reverse, 2001

MAI 36 Galerie, Zurich, 2001

Although this photograph has not been examined out of its frame, it appears to be in generally excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Thomas Ruff, a student of Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Staatlichen Kunstakademie Dusseldorf in the 1970s, challenges the viewer’s perception of reality through his use of appropriated images.  Commenting on his Nudes series in a 2005 interview with Vicki Goldberg for The Brooklyn Rail, Ruff explained: 'I wanted to show contemporary desire: the whole variety of sexual desire in our society today . . . I was quite surprised at the exhibitionism of people showing themselves naked, as well as the voyeurism of the people looking at them and the total anonymity of it all.'  For this series, Ruff appropriated pornographic stills from the internet, digitally adjusting the color and pixels to various effects.  Sharply-focused, salacious imagery is romanticized and transformed into painterly, diffuse tableaus of lust.  Enlarging these manipulated images to 'parlor size,' Ruff makes public the often private act of viewing erotic imagery.