Erwin Olaf Springveld, professionally known as Erwin Olaf, was a Dutch photographer from Hilversum.
11 Facts About Erwin Olaf
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Erwin Olaf Springveld was born on 2 July 1959 in Hilversum, Netherlands.
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Erwin Olaf was commissioned to photograph advertising campaigns for large international companies such as Levi's, Microsoft, and Nokia.
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Never one to shy away from controversy, Erwin Olaf's work was often daring and provocative.
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Erwin Olaf's work received many awards and has been exhibited around the world.
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Erwin Olaf studied journalism at the School of Journalism in Utrecht.
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Erwin Olaf's work was shown in galleries and museums all internationally, for example at Wagner + Partner, Berlin; Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam; Hamiltons Gallery, London; Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris; Gallery Espacio Minimo, Madrid; and many others.
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Erwin Olaf designed the 2014 Dutch euro coins with the portrait of King Willem-Alexander.
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In 2012 he organized a "kiss in" that had around a hundred participants after a snack bar owner had commented on Erwin Olaf kissing his boyfriend.
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Erwin Olaf died on 20 September 2023, at the age of 64, as a result of long-term emphysema weeks after receiving a lung transplant.
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Erwin Olaf had predicted what the illness would do to him in the third panel of his 2009 self-portrait series I wish, I am, I will be.