The Paci Contemporary Gallery from Brescia, Italy, is honored to present “In Memoriam: Erwin Olaf 1959-2023,” a celebration of the life and photographic work of the renowned artist. This significant retrospective will showcase the most important pieces from all four decades of Olaf’s career.
Erwin Olaf passed away in 2023, and this exhibition aims to commemorate his monumental contributions to the world of photography and visual arts. Following his death, one of his iconic works, “#Hope 5,” was inducted into the “Honor Gallery” at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, serving as a tribute to his legacy. Furthermore, a major retrospective dedicated to his work is scheduled at the Stedelijk Museum in 2025.
This exhibition is realized in collaboration with Studio Olaf, led by Shirley den Hartog, Olaf’s longtime manager and close associate, alongside the Erwin Olaf Foundation, established last September to carry forward Olaf’s artistic vision and activism for equality, freedom of expression, and diversity. Shirley den Hartog will also be present at the opening night.
The gallery will feature eighty images, including some that are previously unseen, offering a journey through the entire oeuvre of the artist. It will span from “Chessmen,” the series that brought him international acclaim and won him the Young European Photographer competition in 1988, to recent projects “April Fool” and “Im Wald” (2020), as well as iconic works like “Paradise” (2001), “Rain” (2004), “Hope” (2005), “Grief” (2007), “Fall” (2008), “Keyhole” (2011-2013), and the trilogy “Berlin-Shanghai-Palm Springs” (2012-2018).
This exhibition traverses from Olaf’s visually provocative and documentary-style activism in his early works, which boldly challenged societal norms and taboos, to more reflective, meticulously crafted photography often set in indoor locations, echoing classical Dutch art while remaining engaged with contemporary issues. His increasingly elaborate sets and cinematic styling, referencing the aesthetics of the 1950s, create a suspended atmosphere where the subjects, often solitary figures, appear to exist in a state of perpetual waiting. Olaf is thus recognized as one of the great masters of contemporary mise en scène.
Accompanying the exhibition will be a volume curated by Walter Guadagnini, featuring an introduction by Erwin Olaf himself, published by Silvana Editoriale in 2020. The exhibition will be open for public viewing until September 30, 2025.
The photographs are the property of the gallery. Courtesy Paci contemporary gallery (Brescia-Porto Cervo, IT