ABOUT PEOPLE
Photo-based artworks by Thomas Ruhl
September 17 – 24, 2026
Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, Venice

ITSLIQUID Group is thrilled to announce the opening of “About People“, a solo exhibition of photo-based artworks by the German artist Thomas Ruhl. Curated by Luca Curci and co-curated by Amaride Ferrante, the exhibition opens on September 17, 2026, at the historic Palazzo Pisani Revedin in Venice, and will remain on view until September 24, 2026. The exhibition runs concurrently with the 25th Edition of the VENICE INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR.

Click here to book your free ticket

“ABOUT PEOPLE” offers 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: these are not models, nor a typology of faces; they are people in their own lives, with pride, fears, hopes and contradictions – people who create, who make, who simply are.

As highlighted by Prof. Dr. Claus-Christian Carbon (Chair of General Psychology and expert in art perception at the University of Bamberg), Ruhl’s artworks kindly force viewers to slow down: “His works induce 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 Thomas Ruhl’s own, mostly black-and-white photographs, hand-colored with egg tempera using brushes and airbrushes, as well as 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, Thomas 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, Ruhl 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. “ABOUT PEOPLE” becomes a powerful bridge between worlds: 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

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

OPENING
September 17, 2026 | 06:00 PM
RSVP: info@itsliquid.com
Free entry – Register here

EXHIBITION DAYS
September 18 – September 24, 2026
Tuesday – Sunday | 10.30 AM – 01.30 PM and 02.30 PM – 06.00 PM

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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Take your art business to the next level!

ITSLIQUID Group, with more than 20 years of experience in art exhibitions, is pleased to offer you a new exclusive opportunity: the Solo Exhibition Project, an immersive experience for artists and art galleries to present the latest production to an international audience of collectors, editors, publishers, designers, and art professionals, in the most influential capitals of the world.

ITSLIQUID Group bases its strength on a widespread network made of exhibition spaces located in the main cities around the globe, like Venice, Rome, London, Barcelona, and New York with the purpose of giving the maximum visibility to any artist to sell their works and promote them as much as possible. The perfect spaces shaped for today’s audience where to set up the best art events

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ABOUT US

ITSLIQUID is a web-based information platform, founded in 2001 by Luca Curci, dedicated to the worldwide distribution of information about calls for entries, exhibitions and events at some of the world’s leading art galleries, museums and foundations. ITSLIQUID has already built a readership of more than 300.000 qualified subscribers. Among them are architects, designers, artists, collectors, art critics, curators, dealers, and other personalities of the International art, architecture and design world. It provides advertising services, press office services for events and projects, articles and specials published on the website, and media partnership services.

During the last 20 years, ITSLIQUID Group has become a cultural hub between creatives, exhibition spaces and art lovers. Among our international partners are Art Now Fair, Art Vancouver, Design Tokyo, INDEX Qatar, INDEX Saudi, The Big 5 Construct Dubai, The Big 5 Construct Qatar, Photo LA Los Angeles and international magazines like Art Style. ITSLIQUID Group supports some of the most important non-profit organizations, like UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, SSCS – Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, One Tree Planted, The Ocean CleanUp and Plastic Oceans, with the goal of increasing public awareness about environmental issues. Click here to find out more.

ITSLIQUID GROUP includes a section dedicated to the organization of international art events, managing exhibitions of painting, photography, video art, installation and performance; it organizes solo and collective shows, art residencies and international contests. Its objective is to use new technologies to globalize the language of art, and to connect artists working in every part of the world.

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.

ITSLIQUID is based on fluidity, motion, connection and accessibility. Making things easy to do. Welcome.

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