Photographer of excellence, and
among the most appreciated in the contemporary art scene, the Dutch
photographer Erwin Olaf (1959) is to be considered one of the greatest
interpreters of modern portrait photography: he is known all over the
world for a photographic style dominated by mysterious and contemplative
atmospheres, for his mise en scene and theatrical compositions.
In his shots Olaf weaves complex and dramatic narratives. His works are
striking in their strangeness, their will to provoke, their sense of
solitude and restlessness: they catch glimpses of truth, which reveal
the imperfection and the fictitious nature of an apparently perfect
world.
This rich catalogue represents a journey through the
artist’s entire production, offering a complete overview of his work:
from the beginning with Chessmen, the series that made him
internationally famous, awarded at the Young European Photographer
competition in 1988, up to the recent Palm Springs project (2018). The volume includes a critical text by Walter Guadagnini and a conversation with the artist.