Edwynn Houk Gallery presents Erwin Olaf : Stages, a memorial exhibition of seminal works of art from the multidisciplinary artist’s key series centered on the concept of performance, a recurring theme in the artist’s four-decade career.
The exhibition Stages includes Olaf’s 1980s documentation of Amsterdam’s nightlife scenes, meticulously produced series such as Hope (2005) and Grief (2007) that dramatize social norms, and ongoing engagement with dance. These tableaux — whether occurring on a social stage, theatrical stage, or studio set— portray beautiful but not necessarily camera-ready moments, often lit by a flash of unscripted emotional experience.
Erwin Olaf emerged onto the Amsterdam art scene in his young 20s. His first formal self-portrait shows influence from New York artists such as Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe, but also signals the thumbprint that became a signature of his aesthetic throughout his career: layering props and details in open-ended narrative relationships, leading viewers to fantasize about what story is being told. Throughout the 1980s, Olaf became a well-known and well-loved artist and activist in the Netherlands, photographing drag queens, bodybuilders, fetishists, and celebrities at discotheques and performances. Olaf’s artwork illuminated and celebrated underground scenes, claiming a spotlight not only for LGBTQ+ identities but also for many marginalized individuals and minorities.
Olaf’s meticulously crafted scenes, most of which were produced entirely inside his studio, launched his career onto the international stage. His series such as Gay Couples (2008), Keyhole (2011-13), and Palm Springs (2018) show elaborately designed mise-en-scene and beautifully coiffed ensembles, yet each detail alludes to emotional tension and mystery. As the artist described, each photograph shows “a perfect world with a crack,” as if projecting a private moment to the public, holding a magnifying glass to the uncanny elements of taken-for-granted domesticity. Perfectly polished yet transgressive, these scenes peer into rooms we were told not go into, addressing social issues, taboos, and conventions. Olaf’s intimate and formal relationship with dance is the final lens onto the stage that this exhibition provides. The artist discussed ballet as a major source of inspiration for his personal work, in particular the precision and tension between beauty and gritty strength the genre requires. After Rodin (2016) evokes the sculptural characteristics of the dancers of the Dutch National Ballet, paying homage to the founder of modern sculptur and Impressionist artist August Rodin by emulating the poses of his sculptural masterpieces. Olaf’s final completed series, Dance in Close Up (2022), represents a collaboration between the artist and choreographer Hans van Manen, celebrating their shared vision of evocative gesture and the gifts of the stage.
The exhibition Stages coincides with the launch of the Foundation Erwin Olaf, which aims to perpetuate Olaf’s activism. Erwin was someone who didn’t hold back in the public debate and fought for and celebrated equality and freedom of speech. He embraced diversity and advocated during his lifetime for many marginalized individuals and minorities. Next to sponsoring projects that celebrate or protect the odd ones out in society, the Foundation will develop a second educational pillar in support of students of creative vocational education.
Erwin Olaf was born in July 1959 in Hilversum, The Netherlands and passed away in September 2023 in Groningen. 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. The medal of honor is awarded to people with exceptional merits in the fields of art and science.
This program is supported as part of the DutchCultureUSA FUTURE 400 program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
Erwin Olaf : Stages
Until October 26, 2024
Edwynn Houk Gallery
745 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10151
www.houkgallery.com
