Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf's art explores the human experience through meticulously staged scenes. His distinctive aesthetic is highly stylized and perfectly polished, yet his work penetrates deep beneath a pretty facade. Instead, the heart of Olaf's work addresses social issues, taboos, and conventions, often through subtle or mysterious details.

Simultaneously cinematic and painterly, Olaf's photographs at first glance appear to transcend the unphotogenic realities of the world. Subjects are perfectly lit, their clothing impeccably tailored, and the built sets  models of domestic achievement. Yet, glazed into this tantalizing veneer, there is often a detail-a turned head, wet eyes, a yellowed lawn-that opens a portal into a mysterious reality and emotional tension. The artist described his creations as "a perfect world with a crack."

Olaf's worlds are furnished by details straight from the artist's imagination, yet they draw on visual languages from recognizable time periods and cultures. Rain (2004), Hope (2005), Grief (2007) and Fall (2008) - which challenge myths of uncomplicated domestic bliss and postmodern liberation- are distinctively set in the American mid-century, the coiffed men and women and classically designed homes as glamorous and alluring as ever. The artist's series Berlin (2012), Shanghai (2017), and Palm Springs (2018) form a three-part project that were each shot on location, rather than in a fabricated studio environment. In this trilogy, Olaf examines internationally renowned cities undergoing seismic change, reflecting the particular emotions and neuroses of these cities and their inhabitants.

Erwin Olaf was born in 1959 in Hilversum, The Netherlands, and passed away in 2023 in Amsterdam. His work is in international permanent collections such as the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; and also circulates on the Dutch Euro coin. In March 2023, Erwin Olaf was awarded the Medal of Honor for Art and Science by the Dutch Royal Family. In honor of Olaf’s lifetime activism for the right to self-expression and queer rights, the Erwin Olaf Foundation was founded in 2023 to sponsor projects and educational initiatives that support vulnerable minorities in The Netherlands.