The Selby visits the Berlin apartment of fellow B&A artist Olaf Hajek. The illustrator currently divides his time between the apartment in the Mitte borough of Berlin and London and New York. The Selby photographed details in the apartment including a wall covered in chalkboard paint, statues and artifacts from Hajek’s travels, and framed artwork including a collection of twenty-three frames with sayings that include the word “Run” in them. Hajek also answered one of The Selby’s famous hand-written Q&As. He drew a map of his favorite spots in Mitte, illustrated his own version of the German flag, and offered up his favorite things about South Africa, Berlin, and New York City. Hajek comments he has long been a fan of The Selby’s blog and was thrilled to be included on it. He adds, “I love the way how he shows people in their homes and the way he portraits them.”

See more of The Selby’s photography here.

See Olaf Hajek’s illustration portfolio here.

Olaf Hajek will be featured in an invite-only solo show at Berlin’s exclusive Werft 2 project space on November 10.  The exhibition will include around 12 – 14 original pieces and will be a combination of new work, painted specifically for the show like Flowerhead Queen (above), as well as others from worldwide exhibitions including his recent show in South Africa.

Invited by art connoisseur Anna Lüpertz, daughter of Markus Lüpertz, Olaf sees the show as a great opportunity to show work tailored to the fine art world specifically.  According to Olaf, he’s able to “push limits with the fine art side, which then influences the illustration work.”  New areas and possibilities are explored, which allows clients to see what is achievable as well.

He’s quite excited to work with Anna saying that she “has worked with some of Berlin’s most influential artists and galleries and I’m very excited for the collaboration.”

Olaf’s previous show in Berlin drew around one thousand attendees, which speaks to his growing popularity as well as the city’s thriving art scene.

His next exhibition in the US will be at the Armory in New York City in April 2012.

See more of Olaf’s work here.

Brian Doben and Olaf Hajek collaborate on a new ad campaign for lingerie company Lily of France. Doben photographed the models in the brand’s lingerie while Hajek created the background illustrations.

Doben photographed the models in a studio in New York City. The casting of the models was specific to the brand and the ads. The model rests on a moon created especially for the shoot. Doben says Hajek created “beautiful work, really fantastic,” and that he had a great time helping to bring the illustrations to life in the photographs.

Hajek loved the idea of combining painting and photography in a project. Floral and natural elements are recurring themes in his artwork and he was excited to use them “to create a wonderful, fairytale-like universe in which the women present the sophisticated products from Lily of France.” Hajek adds that the painted text resembles the style of old French posters.

See more of Brian Doben’s photography here.

See more of Olaf Hajek’s illustrations here.

Client: Lily of France
Agency: Richards Group
Photograper: Brian Doben
Illustrator: Olaf Hajek

Rolling Stone has updated their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in a special collector’s edition. The original list was published in 2004 as part of Rolling Stone’s yearlong celebration of the 50^th birthday of rock & roll. For the new 2011 edition, Olaf Hajek, Nathan Fox, and Chris Kasch contributed illustrations of 7 of the artists on the list.

Hajek’s colorful and vibrant illustrations depict funk, soul, and rock music collective Parliament and Funkadelic (#58), doo-wop group The Drifters (#81), rock band Talking Heads (#100), and rock and soul band Sly and the Family Stone (#43). Chris Kasch illustrated rock bands AC/DC and The Kinks (#65), while Nathan Fox drew heavy metal band Metallica (#61) in his signature graphic novel style.

The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time is on sale now.

Olaf Hajek is currently showing his first solo exhibition on the African continent at Whatiftheworld Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa. In “Dark Clouds Are Gathering By Olaf Hajek,” the painter and illustrator explores the continent’s natural beauty and juxtaposes it with its social and political realities. The exhibition follows the release of his monograph “Flowerhead” published by Gestalten.

Hajek draws inspiration from mythology, religion, folklore, and history in his illustrations and uses them to create an alternative reality filled with magical realism. Drawing on his impressions of Africa, he departs from his earlier works by creating dark, dreamlike and somewhat troubling imagery of the African continent.

“Dark Clouds Are Gathering By Olaf Hajek” will be on exhibition until April 16^th, 2011. Find out more at Whatiftheworld’s site.

See more of Olaf Hajek illustrations here.

Olaf Hajek’s debut monograph Flowerhead is being released in Europe in Feburary, 2010 by Gestalten. The international release follows shortly in March, 2010. The book is full of advertising, editorial, commercial portraits, fashion illustration, and rarely seen personal work from over the past three years of Hajek’s long illustration career.

Born in Germany and raised in Holland, Olaf Hajek draws inspiration from far-away places such as folk art in Africa and South America and the detailed work and interesting perspectives of India and Persia.

How did you come up with the title of the book?
Why Flowerhead? I created the name because I create a lot of hats where the flowers grow into the hair, or beards become flowers, so I call them Naturemen and Flowerheads. I like the idea that there is something natural and human coming together.

What role does nature play in your artwork?
What I like about the idea of nature is not that I see it in an organic form – nature for me could be very abstract and it gives u an idea about the creation. It’s not that I see a tree and it’s a tree. The tree could be sad, the tree could be powerful, the tree could be a little bit angry. That’s also something that I like about natural elements – birds, flowers, snakes, and insects – all these things together can be frightening, but they can also be very colorful and very nice.

Who were some of your early influences?
When I was a child I was always looking at art books and trying to draw and paint. I would get my pocket money together to buy books from artists such as French impressionists. A little bit later I became a big fan of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, their work had a kind of beauty with a morbid atmosphere and that’s where I developed my direction.

What is your current concept of beauty?
I’m very much aware of what I’m seeing and what is happening around me – I’m touched by a special kind of beauty. I like the idea of beauty with a broken surface and I don’t like so much perfection.

What does this book mean to you?
When Gestalten came to me to make a book about my work I was happy, but I was completely anxious about how the book would look. Now when I show the book around, it gives a good impression of what I’ve done so far. I think the quality of the work is consistent, there’s no “this work was bad and this work is better,” so I think a good way to put it is that the book is like a treasure box for me.

How did you choose what went into the book?
I was choosing the work for what it was – I didn’t say to myself, “Oh, you have to put this in because it’s a big client.” If I created something that was nice, then I didn’t care whom it was for. I just looked through my scans and sent Gestalten 150 images, and I thought they’d choose maybe just a portion of them – but they actually took all 150.

Your inspirations come from a variety of places; do you travel often to brush up on the cultures?
I have been going to Capetown the last 7 years. I never go on vacation in the summer because I love Berlin summer, so I travel to South Africa as a wintertime escape. I have also been to South America, and I really, really have to go to India one day. It’s more of the idea of the culture rather than the actual place. I also go to New York a lot for business. The first thing I do when I go to New York is the American Folk Art Museum, that’s one of my favorites, especially the Henry Darger room.

What are your future plans?
It would be wonderful to do another book. I have something I am currently working on which is music for the future. I’m going to South Africa in 4 weeks and when I return to Berlin there will be a show of my newest work, some work that’s not even in the book. Also I hope to have a show and book signing in New York.

That’s great! I hope to see you in New York in the spring. Thank you for your time.

-Helen Shih

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Links:
Olaf Hajek’s Portfolio
Flowerhead preview at Gestalten
Olaf Hajek interview on Gestalten.tv

In commemoration of its 111th anniversary, Schwarzkopf is releasing We Love Hair, an “extraordinary love letter to the world of hair.” The heralded hair bible includes work from Karl Lagerfeld, Russell James, Gabo, Olaf Hajek, and other artists. More than just hair nostalgia, We Love Hair is dedicated to showcasing  modernity and innovation in hair. The book is filled with original stories, revealing anecdotes, luscious photo spreads, and beautiful illustrations.

More hair-inspired illustrations by Olaf Hajek after the link.

Olaf Hajek illustrated the beautiful nature scene on the cover of the Book Review for The New York Times.