Elvira Bach was born in 1951 in Neuenhain, Germany.  From 1967 to 1970, she attended the Hadamar School of Glass Art; afterward, she moved to Berlin to study painting at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts*.  During her studies, she worked at the Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer Theater. 

In 1981, she spent some months in Santo Domingo, thanks to a grant; this stay has profoundly influenced her future work. At barely 29 years of age, Elvira Bach was invited to participate in Documenta VII* in Kassel.

Despite the idea of conceptual*, analytical and rational art being dominant at that time in the artistic world, she continued to paint in an energetic and sensual way, using an expressive* language and gaudy colors. The central theme of her artistic journey has been women and femininity. 

All the faces she portrays have the same physiognomy because they are in reality self-portraits of the artist.  Bach always depicts herself adorned with accessories that accentuate her femininity and become symbols of a universal woman. 

At the beginning of the 1980s, the artist began to include the image of a serpent - a clearly erotic symbol - in her works.  It was the beginning of a new artistic period marked by the explicit use of numerous erotic elements. 

Between 1986 and 1992, she spent some time in Senegal where her work found new inspiration. 

Elvira Bach, however, is not just a painter but also a talented sculptor who is especially fascinated by the possibilities of glass.