What Will You See in Thomas Ruff’s In Series, 1979–2024 in Los Angeles?

Short answer

Thomas Ruff: In Series, 1979–2024 opens at David Zwirner Los Angeles, 606 N Western Avenue, on November 13, 2026, and runs through February 6, 2027. It is the German photographer’s first major presentation in Los Angeles and his first solo exhibition in the city in over a decade, surveying more than four decades of his work across eleven series.

Key facts

• Who: Thomas Ruff, born 1958, one of the most influential photographers working today.
• What: A career survey from 1979 to 2024, tracing Ruff’s arc from the analogue to the digital across eleven of his most important series.
• Where: David Zwirner Los Angeles, 606 N Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004.
• When: November 13, 2026 – February 6, 2027. The opening reception is Friday, November 13, 6 to 8 PM.
• Admission: David Zwirner is a commercial gallery; entry is free during opening hours.

What will you see?

Four decades of one question: what can a photograph be? The exhibition moves from early series such as Interieurs (1979–1983), Porträts (1981–1991/1998–2001), Häuser (1987–1991) and Sterne (1989–1992) to the later nudes (1999– ), Substrat (2001– ), jpegs (2004– ), Fotogramme (2012– ), Negative (2014– ) and flower.s (2018– ), closing with the recent expériences lumineuses (2024– ).

Across the survey, Ruff incorporates new technologies as they emerge while deliberately relying on old ones. His method is always a means to an end: “There’s not one way of making photographs. There are thousands of possibilities you can choose from.… I am just interested in the result and if the result is worth discussing,” he says.

Why does this exhibition matter?

Ruff has shown in Los Angeles before, but never like this: the gallery describes the exhibition as his first major presentation in the city and his first solo show there in over a decade. For a first encounter, it is a complete map of his practice; for returning viewers, it places the newest work, the expériences lumineuses begun in 2024, at the end of an arc that starts with analogue interiors made in 1979.

How do you visit?

David Zwirner Los Angeles spans 606 and 616 N Western Avenue. The gallery is closed between exhibitions and reopens with this show on November 13; the opening reception runs 6 to 8 PM that evening. David Zwirner is a commercial contemporary art gallery, so you can walk in freely once the exhibition is open; our guide to cultural mediation can help you get more from a survey this dense.

FAQ

When does Thomas Ruff: In Series open in Los Angeles?

The exhibition opens November 13, 2026, with a reception from 6 to 8 PM, and runs through February 6, 2027.

Where is it?

At David Zwirner Los Angeles, 606 N Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004.

What period does the exhibition cover?

It surveys Ruff’s production from 1979 to 2024, across eleven series, from the early Interieurs and Porträts to the recent expériences lumineuses.

Is this Thomas Ruff’s first Los Angeles show?

It is his first major presentation in Los Angeles and his first solo exhibition in the city in over a decade.

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Sources

• David Zwirner, exhibition page for Thomas Ruff: In Series, 1979–2024, Los Angeles: dates, series, quote and background.
• David Zwirner, Los Angeles gallery page: address and contact information.

More context: our guides to Charles Arnoldi’s String Theory at Michael Kohn Gallery and Richard Avedon’s Hollywood portraits at Gagosian.