Erwin Olaf

‘It’s an impulse, a kind of energy. I do it to make the most of the time we have here. This is who I am. I can’t help myself,’ said Erwin Olaf (1959-2023) about his motivation in an interview with See All This. The Stedelijk honours the photographer with a major retrospective.

As a photographer and versatile artist, Erwin Olaf was internationally renowned for his perfectionism, unusual lighting, striking staging and political, free-thinking perspective. Through his oeuvre, Olaf expressed his views on freedom, the body, sexuality, gender and equal rights. The Stedelijk Museum will host his first retrospective since his death in 2023. Less well-known and unfinished work will also be exhibited in a loose chronological order, with his activism forming the core.

Image: Erwin Olaf, Self-Portrait Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, No. 4 – 48 Years Old, 2007 © Estate Erwin Olaf, courtesy Gallery Ron Mandos Amsterdam.