Elvira Bach

• Name — Elvira Bach • Born — 22 June 1951 • Birthplace — Neuenhain, Hesse, West Germany • Education — Berlin University of the Arts • Spouse — Alioune Bach • Children — Lamine, Maodo Lô

Elvira Bach was born on 22 June 1951 in Neuenhain in Hesse, West Germany. She grew up with her twin sister Ingrid in a rural setting.

From 1967 to 1970, Bach studied at the Erwin-Stein-Schule (state glass vocational school) in Hadamar. Afterwards, she moved to Berlin and studied painting from 1972 to 1979 at the Berlin University of the Arts with "Junge Wilde" or "Neue Wilde" titled painters Rainer Fetting and Salomé. During her studies, she worked at the playhouse Schaubühne in Berlin. In 1981, a scholarship led Elvira Bach to the Dominican Republic to study as an "artist in residence", and was greatly inspired by her experiences there. That same year, she was invited to participate in the "Documenta VII". This was her breakthrough that led to a number of national and international exhibitions of her artwork.

Bach's neo-expressionist portraits of women mirror the themes of her own life, and many of her works unmistakably resemble the artist. She often depicts colorful female portraits that represent many facets of female life, from fragility to sensuality to self-determination. Bach's works of the early 1980s were mostly self-reflective and focused on herself (Night Owl, Sophisticated Lady, Always Me). However, after her marriage and the birth of her two sons, her art became more representative of her new, more private family environment and home-life. Though Elvira Bach largely focuses on painting, she also works on bronze sculptures, ceramics and Murano glass sculptures.