We are pleased to announce the opening of Erwin Olaf – Freedom, a major retrospective dedicated to the celebrated Dutch photographic artist, on view from October 11, 2025, through March 1, 2026, at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Curated by Charl Landvreugd in collaboration with Studio Erwin Olaf, Freedom presents a profound tribute to Olaf’s multifaceted career, following his unexpected passing in 2023. The exhibition offers an extensive overview of his creative journey—featuring not only his iconic photographic series but also lesser-known works, including videos, sculptures, commercial assignments, and deeply personal archive material.
Spanning from his early black-and-white reportages of the 1980s to his final, unfinished video piece For Life, the exhibition reflects Olaf’s lifelong dedication to artistic freedom and social activism. Themes of identity, sexuality, the human body, nightlife, and equality thread through the works, creating a thematic yet loosely chronological narrative.
Highlights include emblematic series such as Ladies Hats, Royal Blood, Grief, Berlin, and Palm Springs, alongside newly unveiled works like Muses (2023) and April Fool (2020)—both being presented in a museum for the first time. These works collectively underscore Olaf’s evolving exploration of control, stylization, and poignancy in composition.
This posthumous show, held at a museum Olaf came to admire later in life, not only showcases his technical brilliance but invites visitors into the intimate, provocative world that shaped his vision. It marks a final opportunity to experience Olaf’s oeuvre in a Dutch museum context and celebrates the enduring legacy of one of the Netherlands’ most influential contemporary artists.
