erwin olaf in moooi's unexpected welcome show

erwin olaf in moooi’s unexpected welcome showimage courtesy moooisee the installation in a 360 panorama here

erwin olaf has been working with moooi for years and this year its founder and art director marcel wanders decided to devote an entire exhibition to the photographer. the dutch company has transformed an imposing space of 1.700 m2 into a impressive assembly of colourful living quarters with new product displays, and lounges. interior design meets artistic photography and they connect, creating the perfect balance between two inspiring, stylish and playful realities. new creations by marcel wanders, studio job, joost van bleiswijk, edward van vliet, neri & hu, nika zupanc, moooi works/bart schilder, bertjan pot, raimond puts, lorenza bozzoli and zmik are revealed (an article on the new collection pieces will follow soon).

the photographs unfold their stories and feelings on a large scale, reaching a stunning height of 4,5 meters especially for this exhibition. admiring them feels like stepping into a world of exceptional sophistication, permeated with the sharp intensity of human emotions and enveloped in a dreamy haze of subtle tension.

erwin olaf interview on moooi’s unexpected welcome showvideo © designboom

erwin olaf, photographer portrait © designboom

although cleverly concealed, their hidden stories instinctively appeal and connect to our deepest sense of being, revealing the strong frailty of the human spirit. erwin olaf has chosen to challenge the public with pieces for his series grief, fall, keyhole and berlin which respectively challenge everyday notions, dwell on sensations of shame & guilt, or show the transcendent relation between people in a different light.

1.700 m2 of space are transformed into a impressive assembly of colourful living quarters with new product displays, and loungesimage © designboom

interior design meets artistic photography and they connect, creating the perfect balance between two inspiring, stylish and playful realitiesimage © designboom

new creations include work by marcel wanders, studio job, joost van bleiswijk, edward van vliet and bertjan potimage © designboom

the photographs unfold their stories and feelings on a large scaleimage © designboom

the images reach a stunning height of 4,5 metersimage © designboom

the images step into a world of exceptional sophistication, permeated with the sharp intensity of human emotionsimage © designboom

moooi products in context to the photographyimage © designboom

(left) exhibition space by erwin olaf, (right) founder, marcel wandersimage courtesy moooi

celebrating the successful cooperation and friendship between two highly creative souls, marcel wanders has asked renowned photographer erwin olaf to join the moooi presentation with a grand selection of photographs from his personal work

 moooi founders – marcel wanders + casper vissersimage © designboom

 the making — shooting beginsimage © studio erwin olaf

the creative team evaluates the resultsimage © studio erwin olaf

 marcel wanders and erwin olafimages © studio erwin olaf

erwin olaf’s work is on show at moooi’s unexpected welcome in via savona 56. a real must-see during the milan design week.

erwin olafborn 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-sharpaesthetic 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 a 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.

this erwin olaf exhibition is courtesy of forma galleria. since its opening in 2005, forma galleria focuses exclusively on photography and actively promotes international masters as well as emerging talents. thanks to the high quality and the variety of works proposed, the gallery is today a reference point for collectors. based in milan, forma galleria is significantly contributing to the building of a photographic culture both in italy, by promoting contemporary talents and established artists, and abroad, collaborating with international galleries and institutions such as howard greenberg gallery (ny), foam (amsterdam), maison européenne de la photographie (paris), fotografiska stockholm and venice biennale. the gallery focuses on two directions: on one side the promotion of new projects of contemporary artists exclusively represented in italy, like irene kung, paolo ventura, erwin olaf, alessandro imbriaco; on the other hand, the revaluation and rediscovery of masters of italian photography. the gallery participates to international art fairs such as paris photo, artefiera bologna, mia milan image art fair and photomarket at fotografiska stockholm.

moooi choose exposize as their large format print partner.