Erwin Olaf (1959–2023) is one of the most important Dutch photographers. He was an exceptional artist whose photographic work not only shines aesthetically but also consistently provokes, moves, and raises social awareness.

Following his groundbreaking exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, f³ – freiraum für fotografie presents the photographer’s first comprehensive retrospective in Berlin.

Erwin Olaf – Muses is entirely dedicated to the artist’s portraits, a central yet often overlooked aspect of his oeuvre.

The focus is on intimate, direct, unflinching, and at the same time stylized studies of the human being, their longings, identities, and disguises. The presentation deliberately forgoes Olaf’s grand theatrical stagings and opulent settings, directing attention instead to the faces of his protagonists as mirrors of personality, as stages for emotion, vulnerability, pride, and resistance.

Erwin Olaf’s early black-and-white portraits play a central role in the exhibition—raw, direct, and imbued with subversive energy. His rebellious spirit manifests itself in these photographs. They depict men from the Dutch gay scene, activists, drag performers, and social outsiders.

As a pioneer of queer visibility, Erwin Olaf gave a face to those who had been excluded from the public sphere for decades as early as the 1970s and 1980s. In an era of HIV stigma and conservative morality, his portraits shaped a new queer self-image—self-assured, sensual, melancholic, and political. Olaf created images that were not only aesthetically compelling but also held emancipatory potential.

His series Ladies Hats, for example, plays with gender roles and fashion sensibilities and celebrates the flirtation with the viewer.

In his series Squares (1983–2018), Olaf developed a new visual language: rigorously composed individual portraits that nonetheless reveal intimate moments of emotional depth. The faces of the subjects—often silent and introverted—reflect strength, determination, loss, and the pressure to conform. It is precisely through the reduction to facial expression and gaze that an emotional force emerges that moves the viewer even without a backdrop.

Erwin Olaf also regularly photographed himself, not out of vanity, but as an artistic act of self-affirmation. His self-portraits are masquerades and reflections on age, sexuality, illness, and transience. Particularly striking are the works he created after his lung disease: unflinching, fragile, yet never maudlin. They are unvarnished testimonies to transience.

The face is not what we show – it is what we hide.

(Erwin Olaf)

Biography

Erwin Olaf (1959, Hilversum – 2023, Groningen) was a Dutch photographer. He studied journalism at the School voor Journalistiek Utrecht and turned to photography in the early 1980s. His works have been exhibited in numerous international museums and institutions, including the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Fotomuseum Den Haag, and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. In addition to his artistic practice, Olaf also worked in the commercial sector, creating campaigns and editorials for international clients and magazines. Furthermore, he photographed official portraits, including for the Dutch

royal family.

The exhibition was curated by Nadine Barth (@barthouseprojects) and Katharina Mouratidi (f³ – freiraum für fotografie), in collaboration with Shirley den Hartog (Foundation Erwin Olaf).

OPENING:

Fri., June 26, 2026, 7–9 p.m. Free admission!

Opening remarks: Yolande Melsert, Counselor, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Introduction: Nadine Barth (@barthouseprojects) in conversation with Shirley den Hartog (Foundation Erwin Olaf).

PHOTO TOURS:

July 5, August 2, and September 6, 2026, 11 a.m.

PHOTO TOUR & DRINKS:

July 15 and August 19, 2026, 7 p.m.

Additional information

f³ – freiraum für fotografie, Prinzessinnenstraße 30, 10969 Berlin

Hours:

Tue – Sun, 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.