Art & Exhibitions
artnet Asks: Painter and Sculptor Elvira Bach
The Berlin-based artist finds many possibilities in working with glass.
Lorraine Rubio
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Photo: Courtesy of Freunde von Freunden.
Elvira Bach moved to Berlin’s Kreuzberg district in 1972. She attended the Berlin University of the Arts, where she developed her signature style of bold, broken brushstrokes depicting the female form, often emblematic of German neo-Expressionism. She was a member of the avant-garde movement Junge Wilde (German for “wild youth”) that emerged in the late 1970s in Berlin, Cologne, and Düsseldorf. Her portrayal of vibrant females are based on and inspired by her experiences as an international artist and mother of two. Trained early on in stained glass, she still finds glass inspiring.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
Very early I knew that I could express myself, just about being an artist and about painting. It was always inside of me, through my whole life. Colors and forms are my way to meet the world.
Elvira Bach, Blaue Figur mit Amphoren (1990)
Resin on canvas 90.6 x 74.8 in.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Deschler.
What inspires you?
My own life, flowers, my sons, friends, simply to be part of this wonderful and exciting world!
Elvira Bach, Bronzeskulptor.
Hand glazed bronze 16.9 x 8.7 x 7.9 in.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Michael W. Schmalfuss.
If you could own any work of modern or contemporary art, what would it be?
A painting by Philip Guston!
What are you working on at the moment?
I am always working, on different paintings with different subjects.
Elvira Bach, Da Komm ich her, da will ich hin (2009)
Resin on canvas 39.4 x 31.5 in.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Deschler.
When not making art, what do you like to do?
I like to be with my friends, sitting in a café, looking at people and enjoying them.
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