AMSTERDAM.- The Stedelijk Museum presents Erwin Olaf – Freedom, the first museum retrospective since the unexpected death of the artist two years ago. The exhibition pays tribute to the versatile and multifaceted artist that he was and illuminates his entire creative process.

Besides iconic artworks and series of Erwin Olaf, the presentation also features lesser-known work, including videos and sculptures, his commercial photography, and personal archive material. The exhibition culminates with his last work, an unfinished video.

Free thinker

Erwin Olaf Springveld (1959-2023) is internationally acclaimed as one of the most prominent Dutch photographic artists, celebrated for his characteristic staging, unique lighting, perfectionism, and controversial subjects. He was a freethinker, and the pursuit of personal freedom drove everything he did—he was a fervent champion of identity, sexuality, and gender, the human body in all its forms, nightlife, and equal rights for all. Throughout this thematically structured, yet loosely chronological, exhibition, Olaf’s activism is a recurring motif.

The exhibition

The exhibition charts a course through Erwin Olaf’s rich body of work, starting with his journalistic, candid black-and-white reportages from the early 1980s. Focusing on subjects such as gay rights demonstrations, these highlight his commitment to social issues. Olaf’s love of light and composition is evident; his pursuit of greater control over the composition prompted him to take the next step—staged studio photography. The exhibition features iconic and lesser-known examples from series such as Ladies Hats (1985-2022), Chessmen (1987-88), Royal Blood (2000), Grief (2007), Fashion Victims (2000), Berlin (2012), and Skin Deep (2015), as well as commissioned work such as SM in Holland (1989) and photography for the Dutch National Ballet.

His series all center on advocating diversity and the freedom to be yourself. The theme of ‘party’, for instance, expresses resistance to intolerance. He also explores the darker side of partying—in Paradise (2001), the men are often menacing, and women consistently come off worse. During the 1980s, Olaf also created several iconic campaigns for the Aidsfonds and the COC, the world’s first LGBTQ+ organization.

The final part of the exhibition brings together Olaf’s experience, mastery, and vision. Despite their compositional and technical perfection, these recent series continue to engage with topical social themes, such as our relationship with nature in Im Wald (2020) and the isolation and futility of man in April Fool (made during the pandemic in 2020). This is the first time either series has been shown in a museum. In Palm Springs (2018) he explored the waning of the ‘American Dream’ and in Shanghai (2017) shone a light on the role of women in different cultures. The series Muses (2023), which looks at the transience of human life and the acceptance of our own mortality, will be on public display for the first time.

The final, unfinished work

Vases with flowers appear with remarkable frequency in Erwin Olaf’s work. He turned to this subject during photo shoots, to clear his head and to help him refocus. In art history, a vase of flowers in various stages of life, from bloom to decay, is a familiar symbol for the transience of life. In the last year of his life, Erwin Olaf created a series for his mother, based on this theme. He began working on a sequel for himself shortly after his lung transplant; a process that was cut short by his unexpected death. The exhibition concludes with this unfinished video work, posthumously titled For Life.

Rein Wolfs, director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam: “Erwin Olaf was more than a photographer; he was a versatile artist. The significance of his work is best understood by placing it within an art-historical context. By offering a comprehensive overview of his oeuvre, this exhibition will, I believe, shed new light on his work. It is a great pity that he is no longer with us to see it. I am very thankful to Erwin Olaf’s studio, and in particular to Shirley den Hartog, for their intensive collaboration over the past period.”

Shirley den Hartog, manager and director of the Studio Erwin Olaf, founder of the Foundation Erwin Olaf and his right hand for many years: “It was Erwin’s last wish to have an exhibition in the Stedelijk, a museum for which he had mixed feelings. As he neared the end of his life, and saw the Stedelijk’s change of direction, his opinion of the museum softened. This is a special moment—it will be Erwin’s last major show in a Dutch museum for the foreseeable future.”

Charl Landvreugd, Head of Research and Curatorial Practice at the Stedelijk and curator of the exhibition: “We show Erwin as a human being, with context, not just the stunning and often iconic images, but what drove him—where did it all come from? It is alluring to see his style evolve: in the end distilled to its essence, but unmistakably Olaf, and Olaf at his best: stylized, minimal, contemplative, and referencing major themes in art history. Together with Studio Erwin Olaf and exhibition designer Marcel Schmalgemeijer, we present Erwin Olaf as the multifaceted artist he was.”