New Prints by Thomas Ruff

These new prints by Thomas Ruff relate to the artist’s d.o.pe. series, which debuted at David Zwirner New York in 2022.

Available individually or as a set of four, these works exemplify Ruff’s ongoing pursuit of a visual expression of the beauty of mathematics.

Thomas Ruff in his studio, 2021. Photo by Juergen Staack

“In early 2000, an initial attempt to create these objects myself on the computer failed because the programs available at the time did not achieve the desired precision. But twenty years later, a new software enabled me to visualize the beauty of mathematics as well as generate those ‘psychedelic’ images that appear natural but are completely artificial.”

—Thomas Ruff

Historically Ruff has explored new technology in his work, with a focus on the evolution of photography. Here he worked with the generative AI program Midjourney to create a selection of imagined interiors based on decade-specific prompts—such as a 1970s living room that relates to the psychedelic aesthetic of this body of work.

A 1950s California living room interior featuring the iconic design of that era.

A 1980s living room populated with playful design elements of that decade.

A contemporary, minimalist space defined by a bold architectural form and materiality.

A futuristic vision inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

“The visual appearance of geometric structures for which the mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot introduced the term ‘fractal’ in 1975 inspired me to create this series. I had always been fascinated by these naturally appearing objects, structures, or patterns that exhibit a high degree of self-similarity.

They reminded me of the psychedelic art of the 1960s and 70s, which I had encountered as an adolescent through posters and record covers.”

Thomas Ruff

d.o.pe., 2022-2023

Digital pigment prints on rag paper in four (4) parts

Dimensions variable
Edition of 40, 5 AP

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“These artificially created images, suggested by psychedelic drugs, challenge perception in an intensified way—they are outside the realm of rational imagination, but are nevertheless perceived as ‘real.’”

Thomas Ruff, d.o.pe., 2023 (detail)

Thomas Ruff

d.o.pe., 2022-2023

Digital pigment print on rag paper

27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (69.8 x 54.9 cm)
Edition of 40, 5 AP

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“They seemed to confirm my ongoing investigation of human perception and the question of ‘what reality really is.’ Is it the world in front of the eye or is it a constructed, virtual one? And it expanded my question to what might happen if the real reality and the constructed fiction are indistinguishable.”

Thomas Ruff, d.o.pe., 2023 (detail)

Thomas Ruff

d.o.pe., 2022-2023

Digital pigment print on rag paper

27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (69.8 x 54.9 cm)
Edition of 40, 5 AP

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“I remembered reading Aldous Huxley’s autobiographical essay The Doors of Perception (1954), where he writes about his experience with mescaline during the fifties.

Until the late sixties, many used these—at that time legal—drugs in California because they could give you a new visual experience, a new view of the world. In his essay, Huxley explains how the consciousness-expanding drugs cause an altered perception and thus broaden the horizon.”

First edition of Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, 1954. Image courtesy Raptis Rare Books

Thomas Ruff, d.o.pe., 2023 (detail)

Thomas Ruff

d.o.pe., 2022-2023

Digital pigment print on rag paper

27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (69.8 x 54.9 cm)
Edition of 40, 5 AP

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“Another reference of mine comes from the lushness of the radiant colors and varied imagery of the exuberant fantasy worlds of Northern Renaissance painters such as Hieronymus Bosch or Matthias Grünewald, which cannot be taken from the real world in either appearance or color.”

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490–1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid

Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece (fully open position), c. 1515, Unterlinden Museum, Colmar, France

Thomas Ruff, d.o.pe., 2023 (detail)

“These works are a reference to the fact that there are no limits to the artistic imagination.”

Thomas Ruff

d.o.pe., 2022-2023

Digital pigment print on rag paper

27 1/2 x 39 1/8 inches (69.8 x 99.4 cm)
Edition of 40, 5 AP

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“When I started working on the d.o.pe.s, I felt it was time to think about these fantastical images, images that don’t make sense at all, that just show up. They play a major part in perception and the discussions about the ways it operates.”

Ruff debuted his d.o.pe. series at David Zwirner, New York, in 2022, featuring large-scale works printed on velour carpets and hung directly on the wall. Installation view, Thomas Ruff: d.o.pe., David Zwirner, New York, 2022.

A futuristic vision inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

“Looking back at the last thirty years of my work, I would consider perception as well as the position of photography within it had always played a big part and probably will in the future.”

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