CV
Selected solo exhibitions
2021
Kunsthalle München, Munich, Germany, First German solo museum show
Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen, Denmark, Solo show in Royal Danish Library
Suwon Museum of Art, Suwon, South Korea, Suwon Museum of Art, Korea
2020
Izzy Gallery, Toronto, 'Trilogy', Solo gallery exhibition
Gallery Kong, Seoul, South Korea, Post Covid 19, part 2 - Erwin Olaf, April Fool
Paci Contemporary, Brescia, Italy, Paci Contemporary
Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris, France, Erwin Olaf - April Fool
2019
Exhibition with a selection of the acquired works at Rijksmuseum , Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12x Erwin Olaf at Rijksmuseum
Shanghai Center of Photography (SCoP) will host a solo exhibition, Shanghai, China, Parallel
Gemeente Museum The Hague & The Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague, The Netherlands, Anniversary Solo Show
Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York, US, Solo exhibition
2018
MIS - Museu da Imagem e do Som de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil, Large multimedia retrospective
2016
National Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria, 'Erwin Olaf - Four Series'
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga , Malaga, Spain, 'Cell of Emotions’
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia, 'Homage Louis Gallait'
2015
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina, 'Erwin Olaf: The Empire of Illusion'
Fundação Oriente Museu, Macau, China, 'Retrospective'
2014
The Museum of New Art, Detroit, USA, 'Erwin Olaf: Breakfast in America'
MODEM, Debrecen, Hungary, 'Erwin Olaf: Karussell'
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile, 'Empire of Illusion'
Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku, Gdańsk, Poland, 'Choreography of Emotions'
2013
La Sucrière, Lyon, France, 'Emotions, Installations by Erwin Olaf till 2012'
2012
MMKA, Arnhem, The Netherlands, 'Regressive'
Gaasbeek Castle, Gaasbeek, Belgium, 'Exquisite Corpses'
2011
CerModern, Ankara, Turkey, 'Erwin Olaf: Captured Senses'
2010
Hermitage Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'Dusk / Dawn'
Fondazione FORMA, Milan, Italy, 'Vite Private' (Private lives)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'A Journey to Excellence'
2009
Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, Israel, 'Moving Targets'
Domus Artium 2002 (DA02), Salamanca, Spain, 'Darts of Pleasure, Erwin Olaf 1984 - 2009'
Institut Néerlandais, Paris, France, 'Photographie & Video: Rain, Hope, Grief, Fall et d'autres Oeuvres'
Fotomuseum, Antwerp, Belgium, 'Erwin Olaf - EyeCandy 1984 - 2009'
2008
Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia, 'Selected Works'
Southeastern Center of Contemporary Art, Salem, USA, 'Still Living: Structure, Surface and Expression'
Fotomuseum Den Haag, The Hague, The Netherlands, 'Rain, Hope, Grief & Fa ll’
Space E6, Shenzhen, China, Erwin Olaf's first exhibition on the Chinese mainland
2007
City Arts Centre, Shoalhaven, Australia, 'Elegance and Perversity'
2005
Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia, 'Elegance and Perversity’
Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia, 'Fashion & Style in Photography'
Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, Bologna, Italy, 'Imitation of Life'
MonteVideo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'Moving Targets'
2003
Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands, 'Silver'
1998
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, 'Chessmen'
1993
Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 'Joy'
Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany, 'Erwin Olaf'
Selected group exhibitions
2020
Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands, What will the neighbours say?
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany, Museum Morsbroich
2019
Conciergerie, Paris, France, Marie-Antoinette, Metamorphoses of an Image
Danysz Gallery, Shanghai, China, Story Smuggler
Hangar Art Centre, Brussels, Belgium, Photo Brussels Festival
2018
Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns, Australia, Cairns Art Gallery
Kunstforeningen GL Strand, Copenagen, Denmark, Vogue Like a Painting
2017
Museum Jan Cunen, Oss, The Netherlands, Museum Jan Cunen
Villa Rot, Rot, Germany, Villa Rot
Fabian & Claude Walter Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland, Fabian & Claude Walter Galerie
Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea, Hangaram Art Museum
2016
Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands, 'After Rodin - Groninger Museum'
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, China, 'Women's Independence'
McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, USA, 'Telling Tales: Contemporary Narrative Photography'
Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland, 'In Search of the Present'
Museum De Fundatie, Zwolle, The Netherlands, 'Dutch Identity - Dutch Portrait Photography Now'
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'Catwalk'
Whangarei Art Museum, Whangarei, New Zealand, 'Hendrik Kerstens + Erwin Olaf'
2015
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain, 'Vogue: Like A Painting'
Fondation Francès, Senlis, France, 'Juke Box'
MUDAM, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 'Memory Lab: Photography Challenges History'
Kasteel D'Ursel, Hingene, Belgium, 'Sweet 18'
2014
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany, 'Memory Lab: The Sentimental Turn. Photography Challenges History'
2013
Amsterdam City Archives, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'Studio Portretten'
Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 'WHITE!'
2012
GuatePhoto, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 'GuatePhoto 2012'
Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia, 'Vanitas Contemporary Reflections'
OCT Art & Design Gallery, Shenzhen, China, 'Basic Instincts'
Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria, 'MEGACOOL 4.0, Jugend und Kunst'
BIP 2012, Liege, Belgium, 'Only You Only Me - Images of Love, Love of the Image'
2011
Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria, 'No Fashion, Please!'
Museum De Lakenhal , Leiden, The Netherlands, 'The Siege of Leiden'
Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany, 'Kunst Macht Schule'
2010
Hermitage Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'Alexander The Great'
Gallerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic, 'Decadence Now! Visions of Excess'
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, Canada, 'Cinema X: I Like to Watch'
CCCB, Barcelona, Spain, 'Atopia, Art and the City in the 21st Century'
2009
Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 'Peguena Historia de la Fotografia'
Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland, 'The Non-Age'
Museum of the City of New York, New York City, USA, 'Dutch Seen: New York Rediscovered'
Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, USA, 'Why Look at Animals?'
2008
Museum Für Gestaltung, Zurich, Switzerland, 'Short Stories in Contemporary Photography'
2007
The Kinsey Institute Gallery, Bloomington, USA, 'Expressive Bodies'
FOAM, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 'Oog / Eye'
Phillips, New York City, USA, 'NYC Photo'
Chelsea Art Museum, New York City, USA, 'Dangerous Beauty'
2006
Artium, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, 'Cross-Referenced Messages - Talk with Reality in Time'
2005
Salamanca Arts Centre, Salamanca, Spain, 'Baroque and Neo-Baroque. The Hell of the Beautifull'
Museum of New Art, Detroit, USA, 'Going Dutch'
2004
Cultural Centre Es Pantagruélico, Santiago, Chile, 'Foto America 2004'
2002
Mostra Internazionale D’arte Contemporánea, Trieste, Italy, 'Shock & Show. Realtra e Alternative'
2001
Bienal de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, 'The Body of Art'
2000
Museum Für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany, 'Bodies, Clothing, Surfaces'
1991
Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands, 'Haks Was Here'
1988
The Photographers' Gallery, London, UK, 'Behold the Man'
Publications
Erwin Olaf: I Am (New York: Aperture), 2019.
Erwin Olaf: Volume II (New York: Aperture), 2014.
Own: Works 1984-2012 (Antwerp: Lido), 2012.
van Erp, Michiel, dir. Erwin Olaf: On Beauty and Fall (Amsterdam: De Familie),
documentary film, 2009.
Erwin Olaf (New York: Aperture), 2008.
Mind of Their Own (Amsterdam: Focus Publishing), 1995.
Joy (Amsterdam: Focus Publishing), 1993.
Blacks, 17 Royal Portraits (Amsterdam: Focus Publishing), 1990.
Chess Men: An Attempt to Play the Game (Amsterdam: Focus Publishing), 1988.
Collections
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
- Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, León, Spain
- HBC Photo Collection, New York, USA
- Neuflize Vie Collections, Paris, France
- Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Fotomuseo, Bogota, Colombia
- Koo House, Seojong-Myeon, South Korea
- Collezione Ettore Molinario, Italy
- 21c Museum, USA
- Susanne von Meiss Collection, Germany
- Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, The Netherlands
- Fnac Collection, Paris, France
- Musée d'Art Moderne, Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
- Sir Elton John Collection, UK and USA
- Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague, The Netherlands
- Collezione Ettore Molinario, Milan, Italy
- Banco Espirito Santo, Lisbon, Portugal
- The Franks-Suss Collection, UK
- George Eastman Museum, New York, USA
- North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, USA
- West Collection, Philadelphia, USA
- Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
- Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Rabobank, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Art Progressive Collection, USA
- Deutsche Leasing AG, Bad Homburg, Germany
- ING Art Collection, The Netherlands
- Caldic Collection, The Netherlands
- Fondation Francès, Senlis, France
- Orefi- Vente-Privee, Philadelphia, USA
- Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Artium, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
- Randstad Collection, The Netherlands
- Foto Colectania, Barcelona, Spain
- Eye Film Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Centraal Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Gaasbeek Castle, Lennik, Belgium
- Blue Collection, Switzerland
- Arad Collection, London, UK
- Inelcom Collection, Spain
- Coff Collection, Spain
- The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami, USA
- Celio, Paris, France
- Rosenblum Collection, Paris, France
- Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands
- Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art, New York, USA
- Radboud University, Medical Centre Collection, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Generali Art Collection, Diemen, The Netherlands
- Ars Fundum, Madrid, Spain
- Wittenstein AG, Igersheim, Germany
- Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Collezione Lanfranchi, Milan, Italy
- Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Paris, France
- Van Vlissingen Collection, Switzerland
- Wiyu Wahono Collection, Indonesia
- The Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia
- Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint- Petersburg, Russia
- Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA
- Seavest Collection, United States of America