Ulrich Rückriem is born in Düsseldorf in 1938.
In 1964 his first solo exhibition takes place at the Domgalerie in Cologne and in 1969 he will expose at the Konrad Fischer Galerie in Düsseldorf.
During the 70’s several Museums, like the Museum Haus Lange in Krefeld, the Kunsthalle Tübingen, the Städtische Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach, the Frankfurter Kunstverein, the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford, the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum of Eindhoven and the Kunstmuseum Bonn, dedicate exhibitions to him.

During the 80’s and the 90’s Ulrich Rückriem realizes big exhibitions in important Public Spaces, among them the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Westfalisches Landesmuseum in Münster, the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Palacio de Cristal, at the Palacio de Cristal al Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus of Munchen and the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam.

In 2004 the New National Gallery of Berlin and the Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum of Duisburg dedicates a solo exhibition to him.

In 2007 he is invited from the Ludwig Museum in Cologne and from the Sprengel Museum Hannover in Hannover for solo exhibitions.