沃爾夫岡．提曼斯1968年生於德國雷姆舒德，曾在漢堡居住，1990年往英國伯恩茅斯和普爾藝術學院修讀攝影。2000年獲頒「特納獎」，現於倫敦和柏林居住及工作。
提曼斯的攝影作品利用經典的佈局手法去捕捉精彩時刻，效果出奇自然。作品主題廣泛，從時裝模特兒到偶然看見的靜物，從研究布料的褶痕到建築物之間的風光，每一個鏡頭都是意外的驚喜，是平凡中的妍美。提曼斯的意象能將尋常的物品和情景轉化為不平凡的事物，而不平凡當中卻又顯出額外的親切感。
在作品《和諧客機方格》(1997)中，提曼斯以希斯路機場跑道和倫敦西部遼闊天空為背景，包括那裡近郊的房屋、鐵路專綫、停車場和公路等，為和諧客機拍攝了大量照片。提曼斯在1997年拍攝這些照片時，和諧客機還是一個進步和光輝的象徵、一個烏托邦年代的僅存者。他選擇將和諧客機這富地位象徵的形象和現代郊區的蒼涼景觀作對比，讓它保持尊貴地位。2003年，和諧客機作最後一次飛行，更加強了該系列作品作為對這項航空工程傑作的一份傷感致敬。
提曼斯的作品曾在英國和國際間廣泛展出。最近的個展於2010年在倫敦蛇形畫廊舉辦，展出他在過去十年具象與抽象的作品。其他主要個展包括︰達瑪約當代藝術博物館(墨西哥城，2008)；芝加哥當代藝術博物館、洛杉磯哈馬博物館、華盛頓赫斯漢博物館(2007)；東京宮殿博物館(巴黎，2002)；泰特英國美術館(倫敦，2000)。此外，提曼斯也曾參加不少重要的聯展，包括「公共秘密：英國地鐵最後的日子1978-1988」（慕尼黑美術館，德國，2007)；當代藝術學院(倫敦，2007)；「面對歷史：二十世紀歐洲攝影家」（巴比肯畫廊，倫敦，2006）；「黃金標準」(P.S.1現代藝術中心，紐約，2006)；「總要遠一點」(第五十一屆國際藝術展，威尼斯雙年展，2005)；「真實工作」(國家現代美術博物館，東京，2005)；「啟示錄」(皇家美術學院，倫敦，2000)；「反抗與生存」(白教堂畫廊，倫敦，2000)。
Wolfgang Tillmans was born in Remscheid, Germany in 1968. He lived in Hamburg for a period of time before heading to the UK to study photography at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art in 1990. In 2000, Wolfgang Tillmans was awarded the Turner Prize. Tillmans continues to live and work in both London and Berlin.
Tillmans’ photographs are distillations of a moment captured in almost classical formal compositions, which nonetheless succeed in appearing entirely natural. There is an extraordinary range of subject matter, from figures in a fashion shoot to an incidental still life, from a study of folds of fabric to the landscape between buildings, but each shot is an instance of delight in the unexpected, of beauty in the banal. Tillmans’ imagery transforms everyday objects and scenes into something extraordinary, while the extraordinary is made appealingly ordinary.
In Concorde Grid (1997), Tillmans documents sightings of this iconic image on the runways of Heathrow airport and in the skies around the West London hinterland, including glimpses of suburban housing, railway sidings, car parks and motorways. When Tillmans shot the images in 1997, the Concorde was still a symbol of progress and glamour and was a lone survivor of a more Utopian age. He chose, however, to contrast this figure of status with the bleakness of the contemporary suburban landscape allowing Concorde to maintain an engaging dignity. Concorde took its last flight in 2003 which makes this work an even more poignant tribute to a marvel of aviation engineering.
Tillmans has exhibited extensively both in the UK and internationally. His most recent solo show was held at the Serpentine Gallery in 2010 and presented figurative and abstract work from the past ten years. Other major solo exhibitions include Museo Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, 2008; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C, 2007; Palais do Tokyo, Paris, 2002; and Tate Britain, London, 2000. Tillmans has taken part in a number of significant group shows, including The Secret Public: The last days of the British underground 1978-1988, Kunstverein München, Germany, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 2007. In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century, Barbican Art Gallery, London, The Gold Standard, P.S.1, New York, USA, 2006; Always a Little Further, the 51st International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale, Arbeit an der Wirklichkeit, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2005; Apocalypse, Royal Academy of Arts, London, Protest and Survive, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 2000.