STE 2.15 (08h 03m / -20°), 1992

Basel 2015
STE 2.15 (08h 03m / -20°)

Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle

Thomas Ruff STE 2.15 (08h 03m / -20°), 1992 Chromogenic print 260 x 188 cm Edition of 2 "In the series of 'constellations' there are no own negatives. Rather, Ruff takes over negatives by anonymous photographers of the archives of the 'European Southern Observatory ' in the Andes. Such recordings from the firmament would be difficult to achieve with the simple equipment of the photographer anyway. The artist determines a section, enlarges and frames it and thereby forms the motif for an abstract black and-white structure of high aesthetic appeal. The work - not free of romantic sentimentality - shows up in the tension between proximity and infinity, between the visible and the invisible. It brings heaven close, but what we see is distant infinity. (excerpt from Swantje-Britt Koerner, "Mit Thomas Ruff zu den Sternen", in: FAZ Feuilleton, 16.04.2002) Ruff's color photography is one of a group of works that includes about 250 different designs and was divided by the artist in six categories, including "recordings of foreground stars with greater density of stars in the background " and "pictures of the Milky Way with a high density of stars". The work is offered in a small edition created between 1989 and 1992.