Canada

Biography

Ilka Bauer is a German-Canadian artist working in both two- and three-dimensional media. Her artistic journey began with drawing lessons in her teens, but she initially pursued a career in biology, spending 20 years studying, researching, and teaching. Her work took her from Germany to England, Wales, and ultimately Canada, where she explored boreal wetlands. After teaching biology and botany and later studying environmental policy and law, she shifted her focus to art. Her work is deeply influenced by her experiences, exploring themes of environment, reality, governance, and identity. In 2019, she discovered paper as a three-dimensional medium, appreciating its texture, form, and symbolism. Paper, historically used to preserve ideas, inspires her to explore the tension between permanence and fragility. Ilka is a member of the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists and the Federation of Canadian Artists, exhibiting nationally and internationally.