THOMAS RUFF | Solo Show | Lia Rumma Gallery, Milan
Artista
Thomas Ruff
Data
15 novembre 2025 – 10 gennaio 2026
Location
Lia Rumma Gallery, MilanVia Stilicone 19
On November 15, 2025, the Lia Rumma Gallery in Milan will open Thomas Ruff’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery, more than thirty years after their first collaboration in 1991. The show retraces twenty-five years of the German artist’s research, who for over forty years has explored the limits and structure of photographic language, helping to redefine the very nature of photography.
Developed across the gallery’s three floors, the exhibition brings together works from seven different series created using various techniques. It offers a comprehensive overview of Ruff’s ability to merge technical experimentation, scientific inquiry, and artistic sensitivity, confirming his position as one of the most radical figures in contemporary photography.
Thomas Ruff: A Mindmap on Photography opens on November 8 at the Lishui Photography Culture Center. Spanning over forty years, the exhibition traces Ruff’s journey from early series like Interiors and Portraits to conceptual works such as Nudes, JPEGs, and Substrates. Presented as a “mental map” of his thinking, the show explores photography’s boundaries and its role in shaping how we see and understand the world. The opening coincides with the Lishui Photography Festival, featuring an award ceremony honoring Ruff, a public conversation with the artist, and a series of talks on contemporary photography.
Artist Wael Shawky’s monumental bronze sculpture Crush is now permanently on display at the Deutsche Wildtier Stiftung in Hamburg. The six-metre-tall, four-and-a-half-tonne work explores the changing relationship between humans and animals — from wild to domesticated, from adversary to companion — highlighting the contradictions and tensions of coexistence over time. Positioned at the entrance to the Botschaft der Wildtiere (Embassy of Wild Animals), which opened in summer 2024, Crush complements the foundation’s interactive exhibitions, Germany’s first nature film cinema, and educational programs aimed at fostering a deeper connection with wildlife.
"Becoming the Sea" presents a sweeping survey of Anselm Kiefer’s work, gathering major loans from museums and private collections across the United States. At its heart is a vast, site-specific installation inspired by the Mississippi and Rhine Rivers—two waterways that carry powerful associations of memory, transformation, and time. The exhibition explores Kiefer’s enduring fascination with nature, history, and myth, tracing the river as a metaphor for the flow of life and the passage of civilizations. Through monumental paintings, sculptures, and landscapes, Kiefer layers materials such as lead, ash, clay, and dried flowers to create richly textured surfaces that evoke both decay and renewal. This immersive presentation invites viewers to reflect on how geography and history intertwine, revealing Kiefer’s poetic vision of humanity’s relationship to the earth and the persistence of memory.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, USA
One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri 63110-1380
On November 15, 2025, the Lia Rumma Gallery in Milan will open Thomas Ruff’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery, more than thirty years after their first collaboration in 1991. The show retraces twenty-five years of the German artist’s research, who for over forty years has explored the limits and structure of photographic language, helping to redefine the very nature of photography. Developed across the gallery’s three floors, the exhibition brings together works from seven different series created using various techniques. It offers a comprehensive overview of Ruff’s ability to merge technical experimentation, scientific inquiry, and artistic sensitivity, confirming his position as one of the most radical figures in contemporary photography.
The exhibition "Minimal", held at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris until January 19, 2026, explores minimalism as a global phenomenon, featuring works by over forty artists from different continents. Curated by Jessica Morgan, the show is divided into seven thematic sections that investigate light, material, surface, and space, placing the viewer’s physical experience at the center. Among the artists is David Lamelas, whose presence highlights the conceptual and geographic breadth of the exhibition. His works demonstrate how minimalism has been reinterpreted beyond Europe, engaging in dialogue with conceptual and installation practices.
The exhibition "Desenfocado", on view at CaixaForum Madrid, explores the theme of blur in art as an aesthetic and conceptual choice. Starting from Monet’s Water Lilies, the show traces how artists have used lack of clarity not as a flaw but as a visual and poetic strategy, from Impressionism to contemporary art. Organized in collaboration with the Musée de l’Orangerie, it features works by artists such as Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko, Bill Viola, Thomas Ruff, and Alfredo Jaar. Jaar is represented by "Six Seconds", a powerful piece reflecting on the Rwandan genocide, where blur becomes a political and ethical device, challenging the viewer’s perception and responsibility. The exhibition is divided into thematic sections that encourage slow, reflective looking and engage with what lies at the edges of visibility.
