Born in 1959 in Hilversum (the Netherlands), lives in Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

Erwin Olaf's art implicitly visualises the unspoken, the overlooked, that which typically resists easy documentation. Olaf's trademark is to address social issues, taboos and bourgeois conventions within the framework of a highly stylised and cunning mode of imagery. With the aid of his razor-sharp aesthetic intuition, Olaf purposely conceals his themes so that the viewer unconsciously and initially accepts the concealment found in his photo series. Yet in the end, his unconventional style never fails to deliver dramatic visual and emotional impact. By providing scenic and striking design, along with the utmost perfect composition in his typical, immaculate 'Olaf' style, combined with his passion for conceiving flawless scenarios, he vividly captures the essence of contemporary life.

Olaf's visually sophisticated and conceptually provocative style has been embraced by the advertising world. His worldwide campaigns for Diesel Jeans and Heineken won him the coveted Silver Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival for Advertising. In 2010 Louis Vuitton commissioned Olaf for a portrait series in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. He also won numerous other international art and media prizes, such as Photographer of the Year in the International Colour Awards in 2006, and “Kunstbeeld” magazine's Artist of the Year of the Netherlands in 2007. In 2008 he received a Lucie Award from the United States of America for his achievements in photography. Recently he won the prestigious Dutch State price of the Arts, Johannes Vermeer Award 2011. The jury selected him because of the high quality of his entire body of work.

Recent monographs are 'Erwin Olaf', Aperture Foundation, New York, (2008). This autumn his new book named 'Own', from Lido Books, Amsterdam, (2011) will be published, providing a retrospective of his work.

Erwin Olaf has had numerous important group and solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including George Eastman House, Rochester, USA; Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; Chelsea Art Museum, New York; Kunsthalle, Winterthur, Switzerland and the Museum of the City of New York, New York. Solo exhibitions include the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Bilbao Art Centre, Bilbao, Spain; Groninger Museum, Groningen; MonteVideo, Amsterdam; Modern Art Gallery of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia; The Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague; Photo Museum Antwerp, Antwerp; Institut Néerlandais, Paris; Domus Artium, Salamanca; Hermitage, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. His work is part of the collections of Municipal Museum, The Hague; Central Museum, Utrecht; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Groninger Museum, Groningen; Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany; FNAC Collection, Paris; Caldic Collection, Rotterdam; Rosenblum Collection, Paris; Orefa Collection, Paris.