EXHIBITION REVIEW: ABOUT PEOPLE
A solo exhibition by Thomas Ruhl
Venice | September 17 – 24, 2026
Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, Venice

ITSLIQUID Group is proud to celebrate the success of the opening of “About People“, the solo exhibition of photo-based artworks by the German artist Thomas Ruhl, held on September 17, 2026, at the historic Palazzo Pisani-Revedin in Venice. Curated by Luca Curci and co-curated by Amaride Ferrante, the exhibition run concurrently with the 25th Edition of the Venice International Art Fair and remained open to the public until September 24.

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“About People” offered visitors an inspiring journey into a captivating universe where photography, painting, and literature gracefully intersect. At the center of the exhibition is Ruhl’s core subject: the individuals he has encountered across the world in his decades as a photographer and author. Their lives, cultures, worries, and joys become, through his images, a plea for humanism – not models, nor a typology of faces, but people in their own lives, with pride, fears, hopes and contradictions.

As Prof. Dr. Claus-Christian Carbon, Chair of General Psychology and an expert in art perception at the University of Bamberg, has observed, Ruhl’s works gently disrupt habitual ways of seeing, inducing a “slow perception” that inhibits visual automatisms and stereotypes, creating a meditative space where viewers can develop new perspectives, empathy, and hope.

All the works on display are built on Ruhl’s own, mostly black-and-white photographs, hand-colored with egg tempera using brushes and airbrushes, and digitally reworked to deepen the themes of each image. Coloring black-and-white photographs is an old technique that predates color photography itself; Ruhl has rediscovered it and transposed it into the language of contemporary art. Combining photography, painting and, at times, the written word, his works sit at the intersection of several disciplines, and it is precisely this amalgamation of hyper-realistic imagery, graphic elements and carefully placed text that gives the pieces their aesthetic and reflective power.

Through this extraordinary body of work, Ruhl goes beyond simple visual representation to dismantle the geographical, social, and cultural barriers that often divide us. By placing human dignity at the center of his artistic vision, he reminds us that despite our different backgrounds, environments, and lived experiences, we all share the same essential essence. His artworks serve as a universal mirror, revealing that behind every gaze lie common hopes, vulnerabilities, and dreams – an invitation to recognize ourselves in the “other,” and to celebrate the profound, unifying truth that, at our core, we are all equal.

organized by ITSLIQUID Group
curator Luca Curci
associate curator Amaride Ferrante
graphic designer Sara De Rosa

EXHIBITION DAYS
September 18 – 24, 2026
Tuesday – Sunday | 10:30 AM – 01:30 PM and 02:30 PM – 06:00 PM

Palazzo Pisani-Revedin
S. Marco, 4013A, Venice

Thomas Ruhl – About

Born in Germany’s Ruhr region, Thomas Ruhl knew as a child that he wanted to become an artist, exhibiting his own paintings and drawings as a teenager before studying art, photography and graphic design at the Folkwang School in Essen. He went on to exhibit at Museum Bochum and lecture on etching and screen printing, before a career shift took him into advertising, where he became an art director and creative director and eventually founded his own agency, while continuing independent artistic and public-space projects. In 2000 he left the industry to found the publishing house Port Culinaire, producing more than 40 books and 62 magazines that earned over 60 national and international awards; the FAZ named him the world’s best food photographer, and Deutsche Welle TV dedicated documentary segments to his work. Since 2020, Ruhl has devoted himself exclusively to his artistic practice, returning to the craft that has accompanied him since childhood.

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ABOUT US

ITSLIQUID Group is an international contemporary art platform connecting artists, curators, galleries, institutions, and creative professionals through exhibitions, art fairs, festivals, competitions, and cultural projects.

Founded in 2001 by Luca Curci, ITSLIQUID has developed a network of cultural partners worldwide, with exhibition spaces in Venice, Rome, London, and Barcelona.

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ITSLIQUID Group manages a variety of art spaces all over the world; among them, Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello in Venice and different historical buildings, ELEMENTS Contemporary Art Space in the London city centre and other partners worldwide. Since 2001, ITSLIQUID Group has organised over 350 international events, engaging more than 10,000 artists across over 60 global venues. Its initiatives have featured prestigious museums like the CCCB – Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona in Spain, the NCCA – National Center for Contemporary Arts in Moscow, the MuMo – Museum Montanelli in Prague, and the MUST Museum in Lecce, in addition to numerous galleries and private foundations. Thanks to its partnership with Sedition, ITSLIQUID has presented masters such as Bill Viola and Refik Anadol, offering high-level opportunities for young, mid-career, and renowned artists.

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