#021 Dance in Close-Up:
Hans van Manen seen by Erwin Olaf
Exhibition Design
2022, Amsterdam, NL | Collaboration: Tom Postma Design + 100ideas for Studio Erwin Olaf | Photos: Michèle Margot, courtesy of Ron Mandos Gallery | Status: Completed
Tom Postma Design was commissioned to design and curate this exhibition that celebrates the forty-year friendship between choreographer Hans van Manen and photographer Erwin Olaf. The showcased photographs and videos by Erwin Olaf capture instances of dance movements in detail. For this collaborative series, Hans van Manen directed moments from thirteen of his choreographies.
The design of the exhibition plays with one spatial gesture inspired by the simple, clean and geometric movements iconic to Van Manen’s choreographies. The goal was to create an atmosphere that pertains to the intimacy and vulnerability that naturally unfold throughout a lifelong friendship, such as the one between Erwin Olaf and Hans van Manen.