Christian Ruhm (*1967) was born in West Berlin, where he was strongly influenced by the 80s scene as a teenager, while growing up on this “island in Germany” (as Fischer-Z singer John Watts once called it) under the everyday impression of the Cold War.
After professional training as a photographer with Peter Schmidt (advertising and industrial photography), he was initially inspired primarily by music and concerts in Berlin in the 80s and began experimenting with analogue material at an early age, deliberately provoking errors again and again until they led to the desired effects. Later, during his studies at the Master School in Potsdam, he explored the possibilities of digital photography and image processing.
In 1999, he founded the studio “die licht gestalten” with his own studio in Berlin-Kreuzberg together with digital artist Uli Staiger, before they went their separate ways in 2002.
Almost all of Ruhm’s early (photo) works were created through optical manipulation during the recording, and later they were digitally “remixed” or recomposed.
Since 2011, he has been constantly developing his visual language and alienating it with various optical and/or software-based methods in his own studio north of Berlin.
In 2018, Ruhm began to expand the medium of photography with unique painting or scratching techniques and also to explore new possibilities with specially made stamps, wire brushes or typewriters on photographic prints or printed canvases in order to perfect his idea(s) of the “perfect photographic refusal”.
Since 2019, he has been releasing music, sound collages and audio pieces on his fictional label and art project “RuhmFunk”. He also publishes short stories, novellas and poems. “Working with collages/mixed media is perhaps the most important development in my work. The pictures suddenly take on additional layers – from now on, anything is possible…”

GALLERIES

• LUMAS  / Germany and worldwide 2010-2013
• COONST / Germany 2010
• MoArt / China 2013-2015

EXHIBITIONS

1995 „Provokation“, Galerie Klade Frankfurt/Oder
1996 „Werkschau“, Galerie Klade Frankfurt/Oder
1997 „London/Berlin Pop“, Private Exhibition Berlin
1998 „Sweet Dreams“, Installation at Meisterschule Potsdam /Babelsberg
2000 „Formulare…“, Studio „die licht gestalten“ Berlin
2010-2013 „Landmarks“, Lumas Berlin
2011 „Shades“, Group Exhibition Berlin Mitte
2013/14 live-visuals for performances of the “IvyEnsemble”
2013 „The Color Of Light“ Group Exhibition Beijing/China
2014 „Artist’s Prints“ Fotogalerie Friedrichshain, Berlin
2017 Featured in a Peter Millard & Partners Project, Thames Wharf Studios, London (picture)

BOOKS

• “Sachsenhausen”, 2010 -out of print-
• “Personal Perspectives 1992-2008”, 2008 -sold out-
• “Your Hell Is Here” with Sven Friedrich, 2011 -sold out-
• “Eine fotografische Verweigerung” (Catalogue), 2012 -sold out-
• “From Beirut To The Cycle”, 2012 -sold out-
• “Albdruck”, 2014 -sold out-
• “see:arr Magazines Vol. 1-4”, 2015 -out of print-
• “Catalogue”, 2016 -sold out-
• “Reise nach Marienbad” Novel, 2020
• “arteFakte” Lyrics, 2024

MUSIC/STREAMING (SELECTION)

• “Life Preview Therapy”, 2022
• “30 Rezepte für Akzidentien”, 2022
• “Skizzen.2”, 2023
• “Kaputt!”, 2024

[for all music releases please visit the RuhmFunk website]