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Erwin Olaf

Throughout the highly stylized work of internationally celebrated Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf (b. 1959), a provocative tension reigns. Form and content are constantly in dialogue. Be it the frisson generated in the space between the polished, apparent artificiality of his surfaces, and the depth of emotion they express—or the conflict between their power to speak to universal aspects of human experience and their surreal, not-of-this-world perfection—his photographs give voice to the unspoken and bring the overlooked to light, saying everything by saying nothing at all.


Olaf’s impeccably orchestrated sets achieve a level of aesthetic consistency precisely because he builds them all from floor to ceiling, creating perfect stages on which to enact moments of awkwardness, shame, or humiliation—the grievous emotions and impulses we might all wish to repress. To that end, his images appear both candid and supremely self-conscious, natural and posed at once; and though they have the clarity and naturalism achieved only by photography, in composition, tone, and gesture they have the mood of a painting.

Silence pervades his images like a soft afternoon light, and his subjects never relate to one another, captured instead during quiet, private moments—but their gestures and postures speak volumes. His subjects are always pictures of perfection, their hair coiffed just so, makeup applied impeccably. They wear figure-constricting dresses and nicely tailored suits, and they have perfect homes to match. But in the static stillness and sterility of their environments, volcanoes of repressed emotion—desire, grief, regret—seem poised to erupt. Rather than confronting viewers, their gazes are often downcast or averted, heightening the dramatic power. They turn away from the camera or stare listlessly at the wall, conveying the raw experiences that overwhelm us all in the moments when no one is looking.

In 1991, Olaf began working with film, and the medium has remained an important element of his practice, often providing a parallel history to his photographs. Recently, for the series the Berlin, he experimented for the first time with making images outside of his studio, travelling to Germany to shoot throughout the city’s darkened, post-war alleyways and within its severe, industrial interiors. Still, even there, working without control over his environments and using sets that were not of his making, he managed to achieve a visual and emotional tenor that is distinctly, markedly his own. The resulting body of work mines the vastness of the country’s troubled past—but locates it all within the aesthetic confines of an obviously Olaf-esque production. Indeed, these spare, psychologically resonant images explore photography’s power to speak truth, investigating the subtle universalities of human existence that are frequently ignored, sublimated, or euphemized.

Erwin Olaf was the 2011 recipient of the Johannes Vermeer Award, the most prestigious Dutch award for contemporary art in honor of his entire oeuvre. He has also been awarded numerous international art and media prizes, such as the Lucie Award in 2008, Kunstbeeld magazine’s Artist of the Year of the Netherlands in 2007, and Photographer of the Year in the International Colour Awards in 2006. In 2013, Erwin Olaf design’s being selected for the national side of the Dutch euro coins.

Erwin Olaf has had solo exhibitions at world-renowned venues including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Bilbao Art Centre, Bilbao, Spain; Modern Art Gallery of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia; The Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague; Photo Museum Antwerp, Antwerp; Institut Néerlandais, Paris; Hermitage, Amsterdam; and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. His work is included in such esteemed international collections as Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Centraal Museum, Utrecht; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Groninger Museum, Groningen; Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany; FNAC Collection, Paris; CaldicCollection, Rotterdam; Rosenblum Collection, Paris; and the Orefa Collection, Paris.

Numerous monographs of his work have been published, including Erwin Olaf: Volume II (Aperture, 2014), Own (Lido, 2012), and Erwin Olaf (Aperture, 2008).


 

 

Exhibitions

Erwin Olaf

Waiting: Selections from Erwin Olaf: Volume I & II
Jan 08 - Feb 28, 2015

Erwin Olaf

Berlin / Keyhole
Mar 14 - Apr 27, 2013

Erwin Olaf

De La Mar
May 19 - Jul 01, 2011

Erwin Olaf

Hotel & Dawn/Dusk
Jan 28 - Mar 20, 2010

Erwin Olaf

Grief
Apr 19 - Jun 02, 2007

Erwin Olaf

HOPE & RAIN
Jan 05 - Feb 18, 2006

Press

48 Hours

Dutch photographer captures telling moments in Hong Kong show
Apr 09, 2015

Artforum

Erwin Olaf
Apr 01, 2015

Candid

Waiting: Selections From Erwin Olaf: Volume I & II, Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, New York – Last Chance To See
Feb 27, 2015

Collector Daily

Erwin Olaf, Waiting @Hasted Kraeutler
Jan 27, 2015

Juxtapoz

ERWIN OLAF "WAITING: SELECTIONS FROM ERWIN OLAF: VOLUME I & II"@ HASTED KRAEUTLER, NYC
Jan 21, 2015

PhotoWhoa

Erwin Olaf Interview: A Retrospective of Waiting, Images Caught Between Stillness & Collapse
Jan 20, 2015

Il Manifesto

The Perfection of Waiting
Jan 15, 2015

Blouin Art Info

Eerie Stillness: Erwin Olaf Makes Time Wait
Jan 13, 2015

Artsy

In Dramatic Portraits and Genre Scenes, Erwin Olaf Complicates Conventions
Jan 12, 2015

Dazed

Look back on Erwin Olaf’s super stylised archive
Jan 12, 2015

20 minutos

Erwin Olaf, the “Photo Beckett,” Portrays Motionless Undecided People and Waiting
Jan 12, 2015

lxry

Outstanding: Erwin Olaf
Jan 09, 2015

Wall Street Journal

Erwin Olaf Waits It Out
Jan 06, 2015

Feature Shoot

FEATURE SHOOT RECOMMENDS: TOP 10 PHOTO EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS IN NEW YORK (JAN. 5 – 11)
Jan 05, 2015

Flavorpill

January Preview: Six Buzzed about Art Shows in NYC
Jan 05, 2015

Widewalls

Erwin Olaf: Volume I & II
Jan 01, 2015

Los Angeles Review of Books

Photographer Spotlight at Paris Photo 2014: ERWIN OLAF
Dec 05, 2014

International New York Times

Still Life, with Stylized Sheen
Nov 28, 2014

L'Oeil de la Photographie

Fotóhónap 2014: Contemporary Dutch photography and Erwin Olaf
Nov 27, 2014

NRC

Older, wiser, quieter, sadder - and moving
Nov 14, 2014

Vrij Nederland

Real Emotions Found in Unreal Scenery
Nov 08, 2014

The Guardian

Erwin Olaf’s Best Photograph: Restaging an Otto Dix Painting in Modern Berlin
Nov 06, 2014

Arte Allimite

Erwin Olaf : The Empire of Illusion
Oct 22, 2014

Interview

Photography Instead of Fruit Acid Peel
Oct 15, 2014

Hunger TV

ERWIN OLAF: LOOKING BACK
Mar 16, 2014

Art of Photography

Feb 22, 2014

WHITEWALL

Erwin Olaf’s Berlin
Nov 13, 2013

The New Yorker

Review
Apr 15, 2013

DAZED DIGITAL

ERWIN OLAF’S HYPERREAL BERLIN
Apr 02, 2013

Artlog

SEE : Erwin Olaf’s Berlin
Mar 20, 2013

Time Lightbox

Erwin Olaf’s Berlin: Portraits of a New World
Mar 20, 2013

Arte Fuse

Wilkommen to the Dramatic Photos of Erwin Olaf
Mar 19, 2013

The Korea Herald

Take a Peek Through "The Keyhole"
Oct 10, 2012

Dirty Magazine

FANTASY WANTED: PHOTOGRAPHER ERWIN OLAF ON CRAFTSMANSHIP & VULNERABILITY
Mar 04, 2012

GUP

Letting Go
Jul 08, 2011

Image in Progress

Theater In A Click!
Jul 01, 2011

EXPOSURES BLOG

ERWIN OLAF: DE LA MAR
Jun 20, 2011

THE NEW YORK PHOTO REVIEW

ERWIN OLAF : DE LA MAR
Jun 01, 2011

TIME OUT BEIJING

Erwin Olaf
Sep 15, 2010

GLOBAL TIMES

LAUDING A WORLD OF JADED MALAISE
Aug 06, 2010

VOGUE ITALIA

STAGED EMOTION: THE ATMOSPHERE IS CINEMATOGRAPHIC
Jun 01, 2010

MAGENTA MAGAZINE

Dawn & Dusk
May 19, 2010

DAZED DIGITAL

ERWIN OLAF: RECENT WORK: THE AVANT-GARDE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER TALKS ABOUT..
May 17, 2010

WALLPAPER*

ERWIN OLAF'S "RECENT WORK"
May 12, 2010

THE VOGUE BLOG

SLICK PICK: ERWIN OLAF
Apr 28, 2010

NOWNESS

FIVE STAR FRISSION: ERWIN OLAF CHECKS IN WITH "HOTEL"
Apr 24, 2010

FAD MAGAZINE

ERWIN OLAF ANSWERS FAD'S QUESTIONS
Apr 21, 2010

THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE

SPECTRUM- ERWIN OLAF: ALL THE LONELY NIGHTS
Apr 11, 2010

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY

ERWIN OLAF PORTFOLIO
Mar 01, 2010

POSH: THE UNIQUE MAGAZINE

Erwin Olaf
Mar 01, 2010

FRENCH PHOTO

REVIENT AU NOIR ET BLANC
Mar 01, 2010

THE MORNING NEWS

SOMETHING IS HAPPENING
Feb 08, 2010

KULT MAGAZINE

Photographer of The Year 2009
Feb 03, 2010

STYLE.COM

PHOTOGRAPHER ERWIN OLAF PLAYS FOR THE DREAM TEAM
Jan 29, 2010

Farenheit Magazine

SHADES OF LIGHT, SHINES FROM THE DARKNESS
Jan 25, 2010

Art Pulse

ERWIN OLAF: A CONVERSATION WITH JAVIER PANERA
Dec 01, 2009

The Fstop

Erwin Olaf
May 27, 2008

Blouin ARTINFO

BREAKING OUT AT THE AIPAD PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW
Apr 10, 2008

Artnet

AIPAD ATTRACTION
Jan 12, 2008

LOS ANGELES TIMES

ERWIN OLAF: 'GRIEF' IN REPRESSIVE BEIGE
Oct 12, 2007

aaray

the big canvas: hasted hunt gallery
Sep 01, 2007

Surface

Good Grief
Jun 01, 2007

Blouin ARTINFO

ERWIN OLAF AT NY'S HASTED HUNT
May 01, 2007

The First Post

Anxiety Attack
Mar 31, 2007

Eyemazing

Erwin Olaf : Grief
Jan 09, 2007

SPREAD ARTCULTURE

ERWIN OLAF: RAIN & HOPE
May 01, 2006

Modern Painters

Erwin Olaf
Apr 01, 2006

The New York Times

WEEKEND ARTS/ART IN REVIEW
Jan 27, 2006

News

Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf solo exhibition at Museo Castagnino in Argentina
Apr 30, 2015

Erwin Olaf

Retrospective in Macau
Mar 26, 2015

Erwin Olaf

The Frances Foundation honors the Dutch artist Erwin Olaf
Mar 21, 2015

Erwin Olaf

Waiting: Selections from Erwin Olaf: Volume I & II - Reception
Jan 10, 2015

Erwin Olaf

Guided Gallery Tour
Jan 09, 2015

Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf: Talk and Book Signing at Aperture
Dec 10, 2014

Erwin Olaf

The Museum of New Art presents Erwin Olaf's Breakfast in America
Dec 07, 2014

Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf : B&W. Early Works.
Nov 15, 2014

Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf Volume II
Oct 31, 2014

Erwin Olaf

Solo exhibition at MODEM in Debrecen
Oct 26, 2014

Erwin Olaf

DUTCH ARTIST ERWIN OLAF DELVES INTO THE ANXIETY OF CONTEMPORARY LIFE AT MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SANTIAGO DE CHILE
Aug 29, 2014

Choreography of Emotions

Erwin Olaf exhibiting at the National Museum in Gdansk
Apr 10, 2014

Erwin Olaf

Berlin, Artist reception
Mar 14, 2013

Erwin Olaf

Hotel & Dawn/Dusk, Artist Reception
Jan 28, 2010

Erwin Olaf

Hope, Rain at HASTED HUNT
January 05, 2006

Publications

Erwin Olaf: Volume II

Aperture
Oct 31, 2014

Erwin Olaf

Own
Apr 01, 2012

Erwin Olaf: Volume I

Aperture
Jul 01, 2008