On 2 April, I went to Amsterdam in the Netherlands with the EuroCity Direct to interview Ype Driessen of Fotostrips.nl on his first textual novel ‘Vanilla‘. I decided to combine it with a cultural activity.
With just days remaining before it closes on 6 April 2026, the retrospective ‘Freedom’ dedicated to Erwin Olaf is entering its final weekend at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The exhibition, which opened in October 2025, is the first museum retrospective since the artist’s unexpected death two years ago.
A final chance to see a landmark retrospective
Bringing together iconic photographs, lesser-known works, and personal archive material, ‘Freedom’ offers a comprehensive overview of Olaf’s creative process. Alongside his meticulously staged images, visitors encounter video works, sculptures, commercial commissions, and previously unseen material, culminating in an unfinished final film.
The exhibition traces Olaf’s evolution from early 1980s black-and-white documentary photography, often capturing gay rights demonstrations, to the highly controlled studio compositions that defined his international reputation.
Series such as ‘Royal Blood‘, ‘Grief‘, ‘Berlin‘, and ‘Shanghai‘ illustrate his distinctive visual language, characterised by theatrical staging, precise lighting, and an unflinching engagement with social themes.
Art, activism and identity
A consistent thread throughout ‘Freedom’ is Olaf’s role as a “free thinker”. His work explored identity, sexuality, and equality, often confronting taboo or controversial subjects. In the 1980s, he contributed to campaigns for organisations such as the AIDS Fonds and COC Nederland, reflecting his long-standing commitment to LGBTQIA+ rights.
Themes of freedom and resistance recur across his oeuvre. While some series celebrate self-expression and nightlife, others reveal darker undercurrents, exposing vulnerability, isolation, and societal tension.
Final works and an unfinished ending
The final section of ‘Freedom’ highlights Olaf’s later work, including ‘Im Wald‘ (2020) and ‘April Fool‘ (2020), both presented in a museum setting for the first time. His last completed series, ‘Muses‘ (2023), reflects on mortality and the passage of time.
The exhibition concludes with ‘For Life‘, an unfinished video project created after a lung transplant and completed posthumously. Centred on the motif of flowers – long present in Olaf’s work – it serves as a poignant meditation on life, decay, and artistic legacy.
Who was Erwin Olaf Springveld?
Erwin Olaf Springveld (2 July 1959 – 20 September 2023), known professionally as Erwin Olaf, was a Dutch photographer born in Hilversum. He studied journalism in Utrecht before turning to photography in the early 1980s.
He first gained recognition for his provocative, often sexually explicit images, drawing inspiration from nightlife culture and figures such as Robert Mapplethorpe. Over time, he evolved from a rebellious avant-garde artist into an internationally celebrated photographer, exhibiting widely and attracting large audiences around the world.
Olaf’s work moved fluidly between art, fashion and commercial photography, with commissions for major international brands including Microsoft and Nokia. At the same time, he developed highly personal series such as ‘Grief’, ‘Rain‘ and ‘Royal Blood’, which cemented his reputation for cinematic staging and emotional depth.
A committed activist, Olaf was a vocal advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and used his work to address themes of identity, sexuality and social justice.
He also played a prominent role in Dutch visual culture, designing the national euro coins featuring King Willem-Alexander in 2014 and creating official portraits of the Dutch royal family.
Olaf died in 2023 at the age of 64, following complications related to emphysema shortly after a lung transplant.
With its closing date fast approaching, ‘Freedom’ offers a final opportunity to experience the breadth of Erwin Olaf’s work, and the life and legacy behind it, at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
A visit
The exhibition is quite complete. His early works shows a lot of male nudity and I’m an advocate for showing (artistic) male nudity in mainstream museums.
I’d love to feature more snapshots of his work, but this page on the museum website works very dissuasively. The sentence “Cropping or other modifications are only permitted with prior written permission” motivates me to not show them. Because it’s a technique I use often.