Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf by Erwin Olaf. First edition (2008). Third impression. Large format hardback in fine condition. No markings. There is a DVD at the back of the book, which contains a selection of five films by Erwin Olaf. Please see pictures. PayPal accepted, any questions please get in touch.

About Erwin Olaf

Dutch photographer Olaf delivers a velvet gloved emotional impact with his highly stylized mode of image making. His work offers a blend of mid century modern and also noir aesthetics seen through a contemporary, fashion - inflected lens. The ambience of the series presented in this volume - the first time these three bodies of work have been presented as a whole - is truly enigmatic and enticing. Olaf seduces the viewer via a mannered, restrained palette that is replete with faded avocado greens, golden-hued oranges, and subtle lilacs. Each richly colored and sleekly composed image offers a sly reinterpretation of Norman Rockwell like iconography and characters, manifesting a nostalgia that both burlesques and wryly celebrates America of the 1950s and ’60s. As a whole, the material investigates what critic Jonathan Turner defines as “Olaf’s recent fascination with the visual representation of such emotions of loss, loneliness, and quiet despair... [He] plays games with the idea of cold reality versus cruel artifice, capturing that precise moment when innocence, hope, and joy are lost.”

Related Links

More books by Erwin Olaf here. More books by Aperture here.