Wolfgang Tillmans

German b. 1968 Egon Score: 69.8

Blue-chip

#10

Egon research · Artist market profile

The market, in context.

Explore Wolfgang Tillmans’s auction history alongside the exhibitions, collections and gallery relationships behind the market.

Research by Egon · Latest section update 2026-02-18 · Sources & research notes

Auction record

$785,560 (£605,000)

Freischwimmer #84

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Gallery relationships

Representation & history

Explore representation →

Institutional research

Collections & exhibitions

Read holdings, exhibition history and their qualifications in context.

Read the institutional research →

Egon investment scores

Liquidity

9/10

How easily works can be bought and sold at auction

Institutional

10/10

Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition

Momentum

9/10

Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz

Market position

Research updated 2026-02-18

Auction record

$785,560 (£605,000)

Freischwimmer #84

Phillips London, 2017

World auction record established by Phillips

Auction highlights

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Research records
Work	Result	Venue and date
Freischwimmer 208	$167,700	Phillips, November 2025
Lighter 64	$30,960	Phillips, November 2025
Minato-Mirai-21	$4,954	Phillips, November 2025

2 further auction entries on record for Wolfgang Tillmans — inside Egon.

Pricing

Unique works: Freischwimmer series and unique c-prints command highest prices ($150,000-$785,000)

Smaller works: Lower-tier prints and multiples $1,000-$10,000

Edition prints: C-prints and inkjet prints typically $5,000-$50,000 depending on size and edition

Primary market: Contact David Zwirner, Maureen Paley, Galerie Buchholz, Galerie Chantal Crousel, or Regen Projects for current pricing on new works

Temporal context

Pre-2017 range typically under $100,000; post-record ($785,560 in 2017) established new ceiling; consistent six-figure results for major works since 2020

Current market tier: Six-figure range for major works

Liquidity

Availability: Works regularly available through primary galleries and auction

Market depth: Deep secondary market with consistent auction activity across multiple houses

Sell through rate: 96% (2025 data)

Annual transaction volume: High - 1,337 artworks tracked at auction historically

Primary market

Galleries

David Zwirner (New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris) - joined 2014
Maureen Paley (London) - long-standing relationship since 1990, 11 exhibitions
Galerie Buchholz (Berlin, Cologne)
Galerie Chantal Crousel (Paris)
Regen Projects (Los Angeles)

Upcoming exhibitions: Keep Movin at Regen Projects, Los Angeles (2026)

Auction history

All time record

Date: 2017

Note: World auction record established by Phillips

Work: Freischwimmer #84

Price: $785,560 (£605,000)

Venue: Phillips London

Historical range

Note: Over 1,721 artworks tracked on Artnet; prices vary by size, medium, and edition status

Lowest recorded: $41 USD

Highest recorded: $785,560 USD

Market statistics 2025

Sold: 26

Total lots: 28

Price range: $1,066 - $209,677

Average hammer: $58,886

Sell through rate: 96%

Average prices by category

Prints and graphic art: $1,235

Photographs recent 12 months: $23,854

Market position

Fair presence: Regular presence at Art Basel, Frieze, major international fairs through gallery representation

Market segment: Blue-chip contemporary photography

Collector demand: Strong institutional and private collector base

Comparable artists: Andreas Gursky, Gerhard Richter (photography dialogue); positioned alongside Nan Goldin, Thomas Demand in contemporary photography market

Investment outlook

Strengths

First photographer to win Turner Prize (2000) - historical significance
Major museum retrospectives at MoMA, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou
Extensive institutional collections globally
Tier 1 gallery representation
High sell-through rates (96%)
Established auction record $785,560
Consistent market presence over 30+ years
Cultural influence extends beyond art world

Trajectory

Mature market with stable demand; auction record established 2017 continues to hold; institutional validation increasing through major 2022-2025 retrospectives

Considerations

Wide price range creates complexity in valuation
Edition works vs. unique works require careful distinction
Prolific output means selectivity is essential
Best results for major museum-quality pieces (Freischwimmer series, large-scale abstractions)

Institutional presence

Research updated 2026-02-18

Exhibitions

Major retrospectives

Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear
Scale
Approximately 350 photographs, videos, multimedia installations
Venues
MoMA New York (Sept 2022-Jan 2023), Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto (April-Oct 2023), SFMOMA (Nov 2023-Feb 2024)
Significance
First comprehensive museum survey in New York; eight years in development
Wolfgang Tillmans: 2017
Dates
February-June 2017
Venue
Tate Modern, London
Significance
Major survey 14 years after previous Tate Britain show
Rien ne nous y préparait – Tout nous y préparait (Nothing could have prepared us – Everything could have prepared us)
Dates
June-September 2025
Scale
6,000 m² exhibition occupying entire Public Information Library
Venue
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Significance
Final exhibition before Pompidou's 5-year renovation; selected as one of best exhibitions of 2025
Weltraum (Space)
Dates
March-June 2025
Focus
Work made since 2022 exploring technology and AI
Venue
Albertinum, Dresden
Wolfgang Tillmans
Dates
May-October 2017
Venue
Fondation Beyeler, Basel
Significance
Institution's first comprehensive presentation of photography, 180+ works spanning 1986-2017
If One Thing Matters, Everything Matters
Dates
2003
Venue
Tate Britain
Sound is Liquid
Dates
2021-2022
Venue
Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (mumok), Vienna
Fragile
Touring
Africa tour (2018-2022): Kinshasa, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Yaoundé, Accra, Abidjan, Lagos
Significance
Major touring exhibition across African continent

Recent solo exhibitions

Build From Here, Maureen Paley London (October-December 2025)
Ausstellung in Remscheid, Haus Cleff, Remscheid (April 2025-January 2026)
Fold Me, David Zwirner New York (September-October 2023)
The Point Is Matter, David Zwirner Hong Kong (March-May 2024)
Today Is The First Day, WIELS Brussels (2020)
Rebuilding the Future, Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin (2018-2019)

Institutional exhibitions career total

17+ major institutional solo shows including Serpentine Galleries, Fondation Beyeler, Hammer Museum, MCA Chicago, Castello di Rivoli, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Neue Nationalgalerie, K21 Standerhaus

Publications

Magazine work: Regular contributor to i-D magazine (early 1990s-present); co-editor Spex Magazine (1997); considers magazines 'extended exhibition space'

Major monographs

Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear (MoMA, 2022) - extensive scholarly publication
Wolfgang Tillmans: A Reader (MoMA, 2021) - edited by Roxana Marcoci and Phil Taylor
Wolfgang Tillmans (Taschen, 40th Anniversary Edition, four books)
Wolfgang Tillmans (Phaidon, 2014)
Neue Welt (Taschen, 2012)
Abstract Pictures (Hatje Cantz, 2011)
Manual (Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2007)
Lighter (Hatje Cantz, 2008)
Concorde and Soldiers (books, regularly exhibited)

Museum collections

Tier 1 museums

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
Tate (Tate Modern, Tate Britain), London
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Guggenheim Museum, New York
Art Institute of Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC

Collection depth: 81 works identified across Met, Art Institute Chicago, Smithsonian, V&A, Europeana databases; likely hundreds more across global institutions

Tier 2 and international

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
Fondation Beyeler, Basel
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (30+ works acquired since 2007)
Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (mumok), Vienna
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Baltimore Museum of Art
British Museum (including official portrait of Neil MacGregor)
National Museum of Art, Osaka
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Awards and recognition

Recognition

Named one of TIME's most influential people in the world (2023)
Selected as one of best exhibitions of 2025 by curators and museum directors (Centre Pompidou retrospective)

Major awards

Tate Britain, London
Year
2000
Award
Turner Prize
Significance
First photographer and first non-British artist to win; awarded for exhibitions and publications 1999
Year
2015
Award
Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography
Significance
Presented annually to outstanding contemporary photographer
Year
2009
Award
Kulturpreis der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie
Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie
Year
1995
Award
Ars Viva Prize
City of Goslar, Germany
Year
2018
Award
Kaiserring Prize

Institutional appointments

Artist Trustee, Tate Board (2009-2014)
Member, Tate Collection Committee and Tate Britain Council
Chair, Board of Institute of Contemporary Arts London (2019-present)
Council Member, Institute of Contemporary Arts (2017-present)
Member, Akademie der Künste Berlin (since 2012)
Royal Academician, Royal Academy of Arts London (appointed 2013)
Professor, Städelschule Frankfurt (2003-2009)
Visiting Professor, Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (1998-1999)
Honorary Fellow, Arts University Bournemouth (2001)
Visiting Professor, Beaux-arts de Paris (2025-2026)

Career & Biography

Research updated 2026-02-18

Identity

Birth: August 16, 1968 in Remscheid, West Germany

Gender: Male

Full name: Wolfgang Tillmans

Current age: 57

Nationality: German

Current locations: Lives and works between Berlin and London

Education

Field of study: Photography and print-based media

Formal training: Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design, England (1990-1992)

Early development: First exhibitions in Hamburg at age 20 (1988) including Café Gnosa with photocopied images enlarged up to 400%

Career timeline

1997: Became co-editor of Spex Magazine

1998: Residency at Shaker community, Sabbathday Lake, Maine

2000: Won Turner Prize - first photographer and first non-British artist to win

2006: Established Between Bridges nonprofit exhibition space in London

2011: Moved primary studio production to Berlin

2014: Joined David Zwirner gallery

2017: Elected to Council of Institute of Contemporary Arts

2019: Appointed Chair of ICA Board

2022: Major MoMA retrospective 'To look without fear'

2023: Named one of TIME's most influential people

2025: Centre Pompidou retrospective as final exhibition before renovation

1987-1990: Based in Hamburg, first solo exhibitions at Café Gnosa, Fabrik-Foto-Forum

1990-1992: Studied at Bournemouth and Poole College

1992-1994: Moved to London, began working for i-D magazine

1994-1995: Year in New York, met painter Jochen Klein

1995-2007: Primarily lived and worked in London

2003-2006: Professor at Städelschule, Frankfurt

2009-2014: Artist Trustee of Tate Board

2007-present: Divides time between Berlin and London

Studio practice

Berlin studio: Located in annex of modernist building from early 1930s designed by architect Max Taut

London studio: Former location at 223 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green (Moarain House, former umbrella factory, 2006-2011); now maintains workspace

Working method: Spends 10% of time taking pictures, 90% dealing with materiality - books, postcards, exhibitions, installations

Between bridges

Nonprofit exhibition space founded 2006 (London 2006-2011, Berlin 2014-2019), program featured David Wojnarowicz, Jenny Holzer, Charlotte Posenenske, Isa Genzken

Artistic context

Contemporaries: Dialogues with Andreas Gursky, Gerhard Richter; compared to Nan Goldin, Philip-Lorca di Corcia, Nick Waplington

Early influences: Early exposure to Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol at Museum Ludwig Cologne and Düsseldorf museums (ages 14-16)

Technical evolution: Used analog 50mm Contax SLR for over 20 years; switched to digital photography 2009; fully abandoned film by 2012

Personal relationships

Documented partner Jochen Klein (1968-1997); long-term friend Anders Clausen (Danish artist); extensive documentation of LGBTQ community and friends

Activism and politics

2016: Anti-Brexit campaign - designed and distributed posters, T-shirts, campaign materials

Ongoing: Truth Study Center project (begun 2005) - addresses right-wing populism in Germany

Philosophy: Considers artist's role as 'amplifier' of social and political causes

Lgbtq advocacy: 2014 traveled to Russia, interviewed and photographed St. Petersburg gay community facing ostracism

Artistic Profile

Research updated 2026-02-18

Style

Installation approach

Site-specific arrangements where unframed prints, framed C-prints, inkjet prints, magazine pages, photocopies, and videos create overall environments; installation considered 'half the work'

Visual characteristics

Diaristic, snapshot aesthetic mixed with carefully composed works
Unframed prints taped or clipped directly to walls
Variable scale - tiny prints alongside monumental works
Non-hierarchical installation strategies
Constellation-based arrangements creating visual relationships
Deliberately casual color processing (drugstore quality)
HD digital precision (post-2009/2012 shift)

Evolution

1987-1995: Photocopying experiments, early documentation of club culture, emergence as magazine photographer

1995-2000: Development of signature installation strategies, increasing gallery presence, Turner Prize

2000-2009: Expansion into abstractions (Freischwimmer, Lighter series), increased scale, global exhibition program

2009-2012: Transition to digital photography, exploration of HD possibilities

2012-2020: Fully digital practice, political activism intensifies (Brexit campaign), Between Bridges program

2020-present: Major retrospectives, institutional consolidation, exploration of technology/AI themes, expanded video work

Influences

Cited influences

Gerhard Richter - dialogue between photography and painting
Sigmar Polke - experimental approaches
Robert Rauschenberg - integration of found imagery
Andy Warhol - versioning and reproduction
General Idea - engagement with AIDS crisis, versioning of iconic images
Hollis Frampton, Morgan Fisher, Chris Marker, Yvonne Rainer - cinematic practices

Influences on others

Generation of artists working with image sequencing, installation, queer visibility cite his practice as foundational; reshaped contemporary photography by dissolving genre hierarchies

Visual language

Color: Deliberate draining of color for documentary work; saturated abstractions

Scale: Dramatic scale shifts within single installation

Texture: Attention to surfaces, materiality, tangibility of photographs as objects

Approach: 'Open and fearless' gaze; anti-hierarchical

Composition: Mix of carefully composed and seemingly casual; rhyming asymmetries

Themes and subjects

Thematic concerns

Image saturation and circulation in contemporary culture
Truth, knowledge, and media landscape (Truth Study Center)
Queer identity and representation
Materiality of photography as object vs. representation
Time, temporality, historical distance
Democracy and civil rights
Intimacy and vulnerability
Everyday beauty and overlooked moments

Recurring subjects

Friends and intimate circle - portraits over decades
LGBTQ community, club culture, nightlife
Still lifes - food, objects, everyday items
Architecture and built environment (Book for Architects project)
Astronomical phenomena - moon, stars, celestial observations
Travel and urban landscapes (37+ countries)
Abstract explorations of light, color, photographic process
Political activism and social movements

Movements and periods

Generation: Young British Artists era (though not YBA himself); emerged 1990s alongside Damien Hirst generation

Associated with: Post-conceptual photography, queer art, documentary photography, abstract photography

Primary movement: Contemporary Photography

Historical position: First photographer to win Turner Prize (2000) - pivotal moment recognizing photography as fine art

Techniques and mediums

Signature series

Freischwimmer (2000-present) - camera-less abstractions made with chemicals on photographic paper, highest auction prices
Lighter (2005-present) - three-dimensional folded photographic prints in Plexiglass boxes
Silver (1998-present) - abstract works exposing photographic paper to light
Blushes (2000-present) - swipes of powdery color, camera-less
Paper drops (2001-present) - furled photographic paper forms
Concorde Grid (1997) - 56 color photos of airplane and surrounding scenes
Truth Study Center (2005-present) - assemblages of news clippings, documents, photographs, found images

Expanded practice

Video installation - 'Lights (Body)' (2000-2002), 'Book for Architects' (2014)
Sound installations and music production
Stage design - 'War Requiem' for English National Opera
Artist books and publications (designed and edited by artist)
Activist posters and campaign materials

Photography methods

35mm analog film (1987-2012)
Digital photography (2009-present, exclusive from 2012)
Large-format inkjet printing
C-prints (chromogenic prints)
Camera-less photography - direct light exposure on photographic paper
Photocopying (early career, enlarged up to 400%)
Digital manipulation and layering

Critical Reception

Research updated 2026-02-18

Critical reception

Apollo: Coverage of institutional exhibitions and critical assessment

Artnet news: Coverage of gallery exhibitions, auction results, major announcements

Art newspaper: Regular coverage of major exhibitions and market activities

Hyperallergic: Reviews of exhibitions emphasizing political and social dimensions

Artforum coverage

Alex Kitnick (2022): Notes Tillmans 'has created an image of contemporary Europe that a lot of people carry around in their heads'; discusses work's dialogue with cinematic practices
Michelle Kuo interview (2012): In-depth discussion of medium, digital transition, materiality
Early review (1994): Established as 'documentary-style photographer' with distinctive approach
Multiple features on exhibitions and projects spanning 1994-2025

Critical consensus

Democracy: Visual democracy in action - refuses hierarchies in subject matter and display

Influence: Most influential photographers of his generation; shaped scope of contemporary art

Innovation: Consistently redefined medium over four decades

Subjectivity: New kind of subjectivity in photography pairing intimacy and playfulness with social critique

Key critical themes

Redefining photography through seamless integration of genres, subjects, techniques
Visual democracy: 'If one thing matters, everything matters'
Installation as integral to work - site-specific constellation arrangements
Challenging hierarchies between art/photography, portraiture/documentary/still life
Materiality of photography - unframed inkjet prints as rebellion against heavy language of large-scale photography
Expanded definition of photographic medium - camera-less abstractions, photocopies, digital manipulation

Publications and media

Media coverage

TIME Magazine (2023) - named most influential people
The Guardian, Financial Times - regular exhibition reviews
Frieze Magazine - in-depth critical essays
Mousse Magazine, Wallpaper, Juliet Art Magazine - feature articles

Artist statements

On making: 'My work is informed and sustained by acknowledging and enduring the extremely low probability of making a good picture.'

On medium: 'The underpinning of my work has always been the use of my medium and everything it offers in order to make a new picture.'

On pictures

'I want the pictures to be working in both directions. I accept that they speak about me, and yet at the same time, I want and expect them to function in terms of the viewer and their experience.'

On timelessness

'I think that the biggest achievement, in a way, is to be of your time, because you cannot program timelessness. I was never afraid of being contemporary.'

On installations

'I see my installations as a reflection of the way I see, the way I perceive or want to perceive my environment. They're also always a world that I want to live in.'

Scholarly attention

MoMA reader includes essays by Roxana Marcoci, Clément Chéroux, Keller Easterling, Sophie Hackett, Quentin Bajac, Yve-Alain Bois, Julia Bryan-Wilson
Walead Beshty: Work shares affinity with Hollis Frampton, Morgan Fisher, Chris Marker, Yvonne Rainer
Jean-François Chevrier (1989): Tillmans addresses photography's status through form that 'reactivates thinking based on fragments, openness, contradiction'

Gallery & Representation

Research updated 2026-02-18

Fair presence

Recent: Frieze London 2025 (Maureen Paley)

Major fairs: Art Basel, Frieze London, Art Basel Miami Beach

International: Regular presence through David Zwirner at major international fairs

Representation

Primary galleries

David Zwirner
Since
2014
Locations
New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Los Angeles
Exhibitions
Inaugural exhibition New York 2015; 'PCR' (2015), 'Fold Me' (2023), 'The Point Is Matter' Hong Kong (2024)
Maureen Paley
Recent
Build From Here (Oct-Dec 2025) - inaugurated new gallery in Tillmans' former studio space
Location
London (4 Herald St, 60 Three Colts Lane, Studio M)
Relationship
Long-standing since 1990; 11 exhibitions total
Galerie Buchholz
Locations
Berlin, Cologne
Galerie Chantal Crousel
Location
Paris
Regen Projects
Location
Los Angeles
Upcoming
Keep Movin (2026)

Historical galleries

Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York (significant early representation)
neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

Geographic reach

Market strength: Strong presence in North America, Europe, Asia; growing presence in Middle East and Latin America

Primary markets: New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong

Exhibition history: Exhibited in 37+ countries across six continents

Sources & research notes

Egon’s artist research combines historical auction records, recent sales, institutional history, critical reception and gallery information. Researched auction records and auction highlights are identified separately.

Read prices with their work, sale date, currency and stated basis. Egon’s market assessments are distinct from reported auction results.

Reference: Egon, “Wolfgang Tillmans: Market Intelligence & Investment Profile.”

Research bibliography · 15 sources

Sources recorded for this artist’s research. This bibliography does not assign every source to an individual claim.

Research updates by section

These dates show when Egon’s research sections were updated. Source retrieval dates, where supplied above, refer to individual evidence notes.

Market position · 2026-02-18
Institutional presence · 2026-02-18
Career & biography · 2026-02-18
Artistic profile · 2026-02-18
Critical reception · 2026-02-18
Gallery & representation · 2026-02-18

Ranking updated 2026-10-01. Research sections follow their own update dates.

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