Elvira Bach was born in Neuenhain in 1951. She studied at the Staatliche Glasfachschule in Hadamar and at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste. She is regarded as a representative of Neo-Expressionism and the Junge Wilde movement around 1980, which is characterized by expressive and colour-intensive paintings. In her works, she deals with images of women that reflect her own biography. Her participation in Documenta 7 in Kassel was her national and international breakthrough.



In a neo-expressionist manner, Elvira Bach paints portraits of women that are bursting with self-confidence; the artist paints women in everyday, yet powerful situations with expressive style. Elvira Bach’s own life story is reflected in her paintings; in the eighties, her works depicted courageous young women at night or at work. As a result of her family retreat, more and more themes such as children or the household came to the fore, but the tone of the female figures remains the same: emancipated, free and bold. In the 1980s, she was seen as a representative of the Junge Wilde and was invited to Documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982. The title of the work “Faith, Love, Hope” alludes to the foundations of a spiritual life, which the artist symbolically arranges at heart level.