Erwin Olaf Explained

Erwin Olaf
Birth Name:	Erwin Olaf Springveld
Birth Date:	2 July 1959
Birth Place:	Hilversum, Netherlands
Death Place:	Groningen, Netherlands
Nationality:	Dutch
Occupation:	Photographer

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

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

Olaf was most famous for his commercial and personal work. He was commissioned to photograph advertising campaigns for large international companies such as Levi's, Microsoft, and Nokia.^[3] 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.^[4] Humorously however, one of his early photographs was once expelled from a show on the basis of not containing nudity.

His work received many awards^[5] and has been exhibited around the world.^[6]

Olaf studied journalism at the School of Journalism in Utrecht.^[3] 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; and many others.

Olaf designed the 2014 Dutch euro coins with the portrait of King Willem-Alexander.^[7] In 2018, he was responsible for the official portraits of the Dutch royal family.^[8]

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.

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.^[9] 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, the Dutch non-profit organisation for lung patients, called it very brave that he had been so open about his illness.^[10]

Exhibitions

• 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^[11]
  • Erwin Olaf: The Empire of Illusion, Museo de Arte Contemporaine de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
  • Waiting, Flatland, Amsterdam
  • "Retrospective," Fondation Oriente Museu, Macau, Chine
• 2014:
  • Art & Fashion, Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris^[12]
• 2013:
  • "Erwin Olaf - Berlin," Rabouan Moussion Gallery, Paris^[13]
  • "Erwin Olaf - Waiting," Rabouan Moussion Gallery, Paris^[14]
  • "Émotions - Installations," La Sucrière, Lyon
  • "Berlin," Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, New York
  • "Berlin," Hamiltons Gallery, Londres^[15]
• 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

National

• Medal of Honour for Science and Arts (13 March 2023).^[16]

External links

• Studio Erwin Olaf, official website
• Galerie WAGNER + PARTNER
• Magda Danysz Gallery http://magdagallery.com/

Notes and References

1. Web site: Profile of Erwin Olaf . Art Culture . June 5, 2008 . 2010-09-12 . https://archive.today/20120529191418/http://artculture.com/artists/spotlights/erwin-olaf . May 29, 2012 . dead .
2. Conway. Richard. 20 March 2013. Erwin Olaf's Berlin: Portraits of a New World. Time. 26 December 2021.
3. Web site: Erwin Olaf Profile . Bernstein & Andriulli . 2010-11-25.
4. Web site: Checking In: Erwin Olaf . The New York Times . February 3, 2010 . Anna . Carnick . 2010-09-12.
5. Web site: Biography of Erwin Olaf . Bernstein & Andriulli . 2010-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110728092807/http://www.ba-reps.com/images/artists/167/documents/erwin-olaf-for-bernstein-andriulli-bio.pdf . 2011-07-28 . dead .
6. Web site: Erwin Olaf Awards and Exhibitions . artnet.com . 2010-11-25.
7. Koning Willem-Alexander slaat nieuwe Nederlandse euromunten, Dutch government, 2013. Retrieved on 3 July 2014.
8. Web site: 2015-10-07 . Official photographs . 2023-09-23 . Royal House of the Netherlands . en-GB.
9. Web site: 2023-09-20 . Fotograaf Erwin Olaf (64) overleden . Photographer Erwin Olaf (64) passed away . 2023-09-20 . nos.nl . nl.
10. News: Wieringa . Rein . 2023-09-20 . Fotograaf Erwin Olaf onverwachts overleden . nl-NL . Photographer Erwin Olaf passes away unexpectedly . NRC . subscription . 2023-09-23.
11. Web site: A CORPS PERDU, Kevin Frilet, Alma Har'el, Erwin Olaf, Benjamin Seroussi, Marie Vic. Magda Danysz. fr. 2017-11-22. 1 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032728/http://magdagallery.com/fr/expositions/presentation/37/a-corps-perdu. dead.
12. Web site: ART & FASHION, Liu Bolin, Gael Davrinche, Erwin Olaf, Wang Keping. Magda Danysz. fr. 2017-11-22. 1 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031755/http://magdagallery.com/fr/expositions/presentation/19/art-fashion. dead.
13. Web site: Exposition Erwin Olaf - Berlin. Galerie Rabouan Moussion. en-US. 2017-11-22.
14. Web site: Exposition Erwin Olaf - Waiting. Galerie Rabouan Moussion. en-US. 2017-11-22.
15. Web site: Erwin olaf Hamiltons gallery. https://web.archive.org/web/20130313122230/http://artwednesday.com/2013/03/11/hamiltons-gallery-erwin-olaf-berlin/. 2013-03-13. dead.
16. https://www.imago-images.com/st/0239112833 Imago