Erwin Olaf: Hotel, Dawn & Dusk

Erwin Olaf’s “Hotel, Dawn & Dusk” opened last Thursday night at Hasted Hunt Kraeutler in New York to an energetic reception. Patrons eagerly filled the expansive gallery space to view new photographs and videos by the Dutch artist. Olaf’s solo show debut in New York was “Rain and Hope,” followed by a succesful sophomore show “Grief.” “Dawn & Dusk” marks the mature succession of Olaf’s vision.

Olaf describes “Dusk” as “a dark comic strip.” In response to Dusk, Olaf shot “Dawn,” images inspired by by an encounter in Russia with pale-skinned people in characterless rooms. Dawn and Dusk are inverted mirrors of each other, one dark and one light, both enigmatic in their own right.

Also on view is “Hotel,” a body of work dealing with Olaf’s travels and the accompanying feelings of transience and anomie, the unsettled sense of passing through, and the boredom of being on one’s own.

Besides New York, Erwin Olaf has also held solo shows at Institute Néerlandais, Paris; Domus Artium 2002 (DA2), Salamanca; Photo Museum Antwerp; The Grand Manege, Moscow Biennalle of Fashion and Photography; The Hague Museum of Photogra- phy; and Museum Forma, Milan. He has been included in shows at Kunsthalle Winterthur; MuHKA (Museum for Contemporary Art), Antwerp and Seoul Art Centre.

His commercial and editorial clients include Diesel, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Elle, and The New York Times Magazine. His awards include recognition from The Association of Photographers, London; the PDN Photography Annual, New York; and he received a Silver Lion, Cannes.

Recently, his short film Dusk debuted at Diane Pernet’s fashion film festival A Shaded View on Fashion Film in Paris. Erwin Olaf lives and works in Amsterdam. Hotel, Dawn & Dusk is supported by the Consulate General of the Netherlands and The Mondrian Foundation.

Erwin Olaf: “The Mother,” Dawn