Nowhere but the Night

Gemma curated Nowhere but the Night at Galerie Ron Mandos, a new group exhibition inspired by the life and work of gallery artist Erwin Olaf (1959–2023). The exhibition ran from 8 November 2025 to 11 January 2026.

The artists featured in the exhibition are James Bartolacci, J. Carino, Amina Cruz, Rainer Fetting, Miles Greenberg, Erin Holly, Leasho Johnson, Isaac Julien, Vidar Logi, Zanele Muholi, Erwin Olaf, Elsa Rouy, Devan Shimoyama, and Zoe Walsh.

Coinciding with the Stedelijk Museum’s major retrospective of Erwin Olaf’s work, Nowhere but the Night brings together an international group of contemporary artists to explore themes central to Olaf’s practice—namely, the communities we build and the spaces we create in order to be free. Presented in dialogue with Olaf’s photographs, the works on view are both intimate and uncompromising, capturing the ecstasy and vulnerability of queer experience with tenderness and defiance. Together, they reflect themes of liberation, desire, chosen family, and the transformative potential of nightlife—affirming the cultural and political significance of visibility, pleasure, and presence.

Installation photography by Jonathan de Waart