Freedom exhibition of Erwin Olaf at the Stedelijk

As you step through the doors of the Stedelijk, a journey through the multifaceted creativity of Erwin Olaf begins. We start with his early black-and-white portraits from the 1980s, documentary photographs in which he already sharply portrayed social issues such as gay rights. Silent and direct, rigorous in composition; this is the beginning of an oeuvre that always sought eloquence as well as confrontation.

Slowly Olson's overall picture unfolds. His over-stylized studio photography from, among others Chessmen and Royal Blood shows theatrical intensity: extravagant, baroque and visually irresistible. Here we see an artist who plays as much with shock as beauty, humor as fault lines in emotion.

The exhibition also showcases rare, underexposed works: intimate advertising photographs, videos and sculptures that put his activism, craft and visual finesse into a broader perspective. Rein Wolfs, director of the Stedelijk, stressed that Olaf was "a freethinker and tireless champion of equal rights and freedom of expression".

In his later work, Olaf becomes softer, more contemplative but no less incisive. Series such as Im Wald (2020) and April Fool (2020) examines the relationship between humans and nature, showing the fragility of individual freedom during the pandemic. The most subdued moment is in For Life, his unfinished video work about flowers in vase, designed as a universal symbol of impermanence - not only of life, but of freedom itself.

"Olaf's photography showed a perfect world with a crack in it - attractive enough to draw you in, then the blow follows." (free to Olaf himself)

Also special is the academic framework: a richly illustrated book of about 384 pages will be published, with essays by renowned authors such as Rein Wolfs, Charlotte Cotton and Jonathan Turner. There are also free introductory lectures at weekends, speed tours for young people during school vacations, a program for MBO students and a party in Paradiso for Museum Night .