Portrait (O. Clesik)

"Ruff's portraits provide an opportunity to observe faces at leisure that are otherwise in constant motion. Artistic means, coupled with a photographically precise materiality, produce a complete stillness of image, reminiscent of paintings by Vermeer, which allow details to become pure form without resorting to euphemistic or decorative effects. Ruff pulls these faces out the flow of time and arrests them in a motionless present. Stillness is the agent of their beauty. It transforms the model into artistic form. The result is beauty without idealization, typification without conformity to the standards of fashion and advertising." (J. Johnen, 'Street and Interior', Parkett no. 28, 1991, p. 90.)