The Foundation aims to perpetuate Erwin’s activism.
Erwin was someone who didn't hold back in the public debate and fought for equality, freedom of speech, and diversity.
He was not only deeply involved in the queer community but advocated for many marginalized individuals and minorities.
In addition to supporting and funding projects that contribute to an emancipated and free society, the Foundation will form an educational pillar to support young creative students through grants, advice, and educational modules.
During his career Erwin collaborated extensively with students with a secondary vocational education (MBO) and recognized the craftsmanship and need for MBO graduates for Dutch society.
The Foundation Erwin Olaf will be officially launched in September 2024.
For questions or extra information, email Petra@erwinolaf.com
Marking the 30th anniversary of the museum’s opening. The exhibition is Co-curated by four curators in an omnibus format. The exhibition offers a multifaceted selection from the museum’s collection, conveying the richness and variety of photography and the moving image. The exhibition’s title, transphysical, combines the word “physical,” relating to material and the body, with the prefix “trans,” which suggests movement or transformation from one form or state to another. It explores both the physicality of photographs as objects and the bodily expression of both subjects and artists.
Disability is not far away. It is both ordinary and extraordinary. In I’m Just Here, we look at the maker, the person, and society through the lens of disability – through everyday experiences and art full of imagination.
The walls of Paci contemporary will narrate a journey through the artist’s entire production starting with “Chessmen,” the series that made him internationally famous by allowing him to win the Young European Photographer in 1988, up to the latest projects “April Fool” and “Im Wald” (2020), through the iconic, “Paradise” (2001), “Rain” (2004), “Hope” (2005), “Grief” (2007), “Fall” (2008), “Keyhole” (2011-2013) and the trilogy “Berlin-Shanghai-Palm Springs” (2012-2018).
In addition to all-time favourites like van Rysselberghe’s Portrait de Laure Flé (1898), Picasso’s Paysage de Cannes au crepuscule (1960) and de Chirico’s Piazza d’Italia (1970), the presentation will also feature a wealth of new acquisitions from the past four years, on show for the very first time at the museum. An exciting programme of events and activities also accompanies the exhibition.
The Stedelijk is organising an exhibition of the work of Erwin Olaf, which opens in autumn 2025. Organised in collaboration with Studio Erwin Olaf, it will be the first exhibition in the Netherlands of Erwin Olaf’s work since his sudden death last year.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the biography of Erwin’s biography on 21st of October 2024.
Authored by Mischa Cohen, this comprehensive work is the culmination of several years of meticulous research. Mischa closely followed Erwin's journey, visiting museums, archives, photoshoots, and spending time with his family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones to gather a wealth of engaging stories.
True to Erwin's wishes, this biography aims to present an accurate and unembellished portrait of his life and work.
The biography is scheduled to be released in additional languages in 2025.
Through a selection of over sixty masterpieces in the field of visual arts, ranging from photography and video art to the use of artificial intelligence, the exhibition explores various aspects of beauty and its contemporary transformations, from the early 20th century to today.
Hamiltons is pleased to present Erwin Olaf: Bigger Than Life, a celebration of Olaf’s life and photographic oeuvre. The exhibition presents important works from across the artist’s four-decade career, including works from series such as Chessmen, Im Wald, Palm Springs, Paradise and Grief, alongside a selection of self-portraits. It is a monumental celebration of the artist’s contribution to the visual arts, and of his long-term close friendship with Hamiltons Gallery.
The first posthumous exhibition dedicated to Erwin Olaf (Hilversum, 1959 – Amsterdam, 2023) at Baró Galeria pays tribute to an artist whose work redefined the way we perceive the body and its relationship with cultural and social codes.
Edwynn Houk Gallery presents Erwin Olaf: Stages, an exhibition of key series centered on the concept of performance, a recurring theme in the artists four-decade career.
The Point of View exhibition shows how ideas around gender are constantly changing over time, and how they have been expressed visually – in the form of an extravagantly decorative dragon-shaped gold toothpick, a Gispen desk, and a portrait of William III, Prince of Orange, wearing a dress. These 150 paintings, prints, drawings, costumes, accessories, sculptures, photographs and items of furniture from the Rijksmuseum colection show that gender is to be found in all things.
The exhibition Erwin Olaf: Narratives of Emancipation, Desire and Intimacy: will present in Madrid a large overview exhibition of photos, videos and video-installations of Erwin Olaf’s work from the ‘80s to the 2020s. Instead of a chronological exhibition, the exhibition will be articulated around three key topics of Erwin Olaf’s artistic practice: Emancipation (political body), desire (sensual body) and intimacy (affective body).
This exhibition at Centro Niemeyer, Aviles deals with the disorientation of the contemporary subject in a changing world.
His Majesty the King and Her Majesty Queen Máxima welcomed Erwin Olaf at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. His Majesty the King then presented the Medal of Honor for Art and Science of the House Order of Orange to Erwin Olaf.
The award is presented to persons with exceptional merits in the fields of art and science. The Medal of Honor for Art and Science is also based on a special relationship with the Royal House.
Marking the 50th anniversary of Edward Steichen’s death, this exciting project showcases the work of Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf (*1959) and Belgian visual artist Hans Op de Beeck (*1969).
Considered as the most important Dutch photographer of his generation, Olaf is celebrated for his bold and sometimes controversial approach. His practice centers around society’s marginalized individuals, including women, people of color, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
The exhibition Erwin Olaf: Perfect Moment – Incomplete World, as seen in Korea, will travel onwards to Taiwan!
14 December 2021 - 20 March 2022
The magnificent Suwon iPark Museum of Art in South Korea will host a solo show, with a beautiful selection of Erwin Olaf's entire oeuvre.
