Giliane Bader

Artist Biography and Statement:

Born in the Sahara, Giliane moved to Germany with her family, where she started her schooling. She returned to her native country five years later as a civil war erupted, and left for France at the end of the war, along with many other refugees – she was 15. Within a year she and her family relocated to Tahiti – a time of healing and reconnection with nature. Later on, she travelled alone to Africa, Turkey, Egypt, West French Indies and the US. Photography helped her hold onto the ephemeral nature of life, while drawing brought her relief when in difficult times. Today, Giliane resides in Boston, tucked between the Charles River and Atlantic Ocean.

From a young age, she developed a visceral bond with the lands surrounding her, crabbing in the Mediterranean, spending hours on an anchored speedboat and watching tropical fishes fluttering around coral in the Tahitian lagoon, swimming in the Congo River or exploring a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The abundance of fauna and flora, the harmony of nature’s patterns and the light qualities she encountered in Africa, the Mediterranean, and French Polynesia flow surreptitiously throughout her work.

Since her stay in Tahiti, she was drawn toward eastern philosophies and practiced Hatha Yoga daily for 13 years before switching to outdoor running while raising her son.  For the last 16 years, she has been a Tai Chi practitioner, including various Chinese martial arts and meditation practices – all these suitable for someone enjoying observation and pattern analysis, as in biology, neuro-psychology or systems analysis. She discovered personal computers in the early 80s and was hooked.

Her sensitivity to nature, its harmony, beauty and energies along with her meditative practices are her source of inspiration.  With her latest work, her passions for nature and technology blend, each piece crafted with digital tools on an iPad Pro.