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Erwin Olaf

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Erwin Olaf
Olaf in 2012
Born
Erwin Olaf Springveld

(1959-07-02)2 July 1959
Hilversum, Netherlands
Died20 September 2023(2023-09-20) (aged 64)
Groningen, Netherlands
OccupationPhotographer

Erwin Olaf Springveld (2 July 1959 – 20 September 2023), professionally known as Erwin Olaf, was a Dutch photographer from Hilversum.[1] Time magazine described his work as straddling "the worlds of commercial, art and fashion photography at once".[2]

Biography

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Public toilets designed by Rem Koolhaas and Erwin Olaf in Groningen

Erwin Olaf Springveld was born on 2 July 1959 in Hilversum, Netherlands.

Olaf was most famous for his commercial and personal work.[3] He was commissioned to photograph advertising campaigns for large international companies such as Levi's, Microsoft, and Nokia.[4] Some of his most famous photographic series include "Grief", "Rain", and "Royal Blood". Never one to shy away from controversy, Olaf's work was often daring and provocative.[5] Humorously however, one of his early photographs was once expelled from a show on the basis of not containing nudity.[citation needed]

His work received many awards[6] and has been exhibited around the world.[7]

Olaf studied journalism at the School of Journalism in Utrecht.[4] His work was shown in galleries and museums all internationally, for example at Wagner + Partner, Berlin; Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam; Hamiltons Gallery, London; Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris; Gallery Espacio Minimo, Madrid; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam; and many others.

Olaf designed the 2014 Dutch euro coins with the portrait of King Willem-Alexander.[8] In 2018, he was responsible for the official portraits of the Dutch royal family.[9]

He was an advocate for gay rights. In 2012 he organized a "kiss in" that had around a hundred participants after a snack bar owner had commented on Olaf kissing his boyfriend.[10]

Olaf died on 20 September 2023, at the age of 64, as a result of long-term emphysema weeks after receiving a lung transplant. Olaf was first diagnosed with emphysema in 1996.[11] He had predicted what the illness would do to him in the third panel of his 2009 self-portrait series I wish, I am, I will be. The Longfonds [nl], the Dutch non-profit organisation for lung patients, called it very brave that he had been so open about his illness.[10]

Exhibitions

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  • 2026:
  • Tender Fury, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam
  • 2025:
    • Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam - Solo Exhibition: Freedom
    • A Suspended Tomorrow, 212 Photography, Istanbul, Turkey
    • IN MEMORIAM: ERWIN OLAF (1959-2023), PACI Contemporary Gallery, Brescia, Italy
    • Nowhere but the Night, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam
  • 2024:
    • Bigger Than Life, Hamiltons Gallery, London, UK
    • Erwin Olaf, Kong Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
    • Erwin Olaf: Stages, Houk Gallery, New York, USA
    • Erwin Olaf: Narratives of Emancipation, Desire and Intimacy, Centro Cultural De La Villa, Madrid, Spain
  • 2021:
    • Munich Kunsthalle - Solo Exhibition: Unheimlich schön (irreally beautiful)
  • 2019:
    • Anniversary Solo Show, Gemeente Museum The Hague & The Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague, The Netherlands
    • Palm Springs Unseen, Flatland, Amsterdam
  • 2017:
    • Album 13 d'Indochine, Galerie Rabouan Moussin, Paris, France
    • Human&Nature, Gallery Kong, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 2016:
    • Erwin Olaf - Four Series, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
    • Cell of Emotions, National Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
    • Homage Louis Gallait, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia
  • 2015:
    • A Corps Perdu, Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris[12]
    • Erwin Olaf: The Empire of Illusion, Museo de Arte Contemporaine de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
    • Waiting, Flatland, Amsterdam
    • "Retrospective," Fondation Oriente Museu, Macau, Chine
  • 2014:
  • 2013:
    • "Erwin Olaf - Berlin," Rabouan Moussion Gallery, Paris[14]
    • "Erwin Olaf - Waiting," Rabouan Moussion Gallery, Paris[15]
    • "Émotions - Installations," La Sucrière, Lyon
    • "Berlin," Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, New York
    • "Berlin," Hamiltons Gallery, Londres[16]
  • 2012:
    • The Dark Side, Rabouan Moussion Gallery, Paris
    • "Works 2000 - 2010," Art Statements Gallery, Hong Kong
    • "Erwin Olaf," Kong Gallery, Séoul
    • "Short Stories," Wagner Gallery, Berlin
  • 2011:
    • "Erwin Olaf," Art Statements Gallery, Tokyo
    • "Paradise the club," Rabouan Moussion Gallery, Paris
    • "High Tension," Carbon, Dubaï
    • "Captured senses," Cer Modern, Ankara
    • "Erwin Olaf," Nordic Light International Festival of Photography, Kristiansund
  • 2010:
    • "Erwin Olaf Hotel," Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris
    • "Erwin Olaf Hotel," Paris-Benijing Gallery, Pékin
    • "Erwin Olaf - Recent Work," Hamiltons Gallery, Londres
    • "Hotel, Dawn & Dusk," Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, New York
  • 2009 :
    • Dusk, Flatland, Amsterdam
    • "Série Laboral Escena," Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris
    • "Rain, Hope, Grief & Fall," Institut Netherlands, Paris
    • "Darts of Pleasure," Domus Artium Museum, Salamanque
    • "Moving Targets," Haifa Museum of Art, Haïfa

Honours

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National
  • Medal of Honour for Science and Arts (13 March 2023).[17]

References

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  1. ↑ "Profile of Erwin Olaf". Art Culture. 5 June 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ↑ Conway, Richard (20 March 2013). "Erwin Olaf's Berlin: Portraits of a New World". Time. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  3. ↑ ""Erwin Olaf - Stages", by John Belknap". FRAMES. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Erwin Olaf Profile". Bernstein & Andriulli. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  5. ↑ Carnick, Anna (3 February 2010). "Checking In: Erwin Olaf". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Biography of Erwin Olaf" (PDF). Bernstein & Andriulli. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  7. ↑ "Erwin Olaf Awards and Exhibitions". artnet.com. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  8. ↑ (in Dutch) Koning Willem-Alexander slaat nieuwe Nederlandse euromunten Archived 2014-01-13 at the Wayback Machine, Dutch government, 2013. Retrieved on 3 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Official photographs". Royal House of the Netherlands. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  10. 1 2 Wieringa, Rein (20 September 2023). "Fotograaf Erwin Olaf onverwachts overleden" [Photographer Erwin Olaf passes away unexpectedly]. NRC (in Netherlands Dutch). Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Fotograaf Erwin Olaf (64) overleden" [Photographer Erwin Olaf (64) passed away]. nos.nl (in Dutch). 20 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "A CORPS PERDU, Kevin Frilet, Alma Har'el, Erwin Olaf, Benjamin Seroussi, Marie Vic". Magda Danysz (in French). Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "ART & FASHION, Liu Bolin, Gael Davrinche, Erwin Olaf, Wang Keping". Magda Danysz (in French). Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Exposition Erwin Olaf - Berlin". Galerie Rabouan Moussion. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Exposition Erwin Olaf - Waiting". Galerie Rabouan Moussion. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "Erwin olaf Hamiltons gallery". Archived from the original on 13 March 2013.
  17. ↑ Imago
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