Born in Halle (Saale), Germany, 1962. Lives and works in Berlin.

Olaf Nicolai studied at the School of Applied Arts Schneeberg (Germany) and German Literature and Philology at the universities in Leipzig, Budapest and Vienna. In 1992, he completed his PhD on The Vienna Group. Olaf Nicolai has been awarded several grants, including Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes at the Studies Centre for Art and Science in Venice, 1993; Villa Massimo, Rome, 1996; P.S.1 Museum Grant, New York, 1998; IASPIS, Stockholm, 2000; the Art Award Wolfsburg, 2002; and the Villa Aurora, Los Angeles, 2008.

Olaf Nicolai has participated in major international exhibitions such as: Documenta X, 1997; Venice Biennale, 2001 & 2005; Sydney Biennial, 2002; Sharjah Biennial, 2005; Athens Biennial, 2007. His work is shown in renowned institutions (Migros Museum, Zürich; Museo Serralves, Porto; MoMA-Museum of Modern Art, New York; Fondation Cartier, Paris; Lehnbach Haus, Munich; kestnergesellschaft, Hannover).