ARTIST STATEMENT
As a contemporary artist and feminist, my paintings offer the paradox of lightness, stillness, and joy arrived at through the crucible of lived experience of personal passion and emotion. I use a traditional medium (watercolor), on traditional Asian papers, mounted using time honored techniques—depicting subjects conveying peacefulness in nature. The materials’ apparent delicacy and translucence belie their fundamental strength and longevity, reflecting the paintings’ combination of traditional and modern, infused with multiple layers of personal experience and women’s archetypal reality. These paintings’ essential peacefulness reminds us about the importance of rest, honoring nature’s cycles, and savoring life’s beauty and unfolding joy. I love the intuitive flow of watercolor, the pop of bright colored paint, and the luscious feel of handmade paper. All three of these pleasures come together in my paintings to offer a colorful, calming experience, inspired by nature.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Award-winning artist Anne Nordhaus-Bike is a longtime member of Woman Made Gallery. She paints watercolors and makes mixed media art. Anne’s art has appeared in numerous solo and group shows as well as many arts programs, presentations, and performances. Her work has been published in periodicals and books; covered in numerous print publications; and featured in broadcast media, both on television and in feature films. She received a degree in art history, with honors, from the University of Chicago in 1981 and went on to launch a fine arts column that ran for two decades in Gazette Chicago newspaper, where she served in various capacities. She joined the paper’s board of directors in 2004, serving until June 2024. She founded her multimedia arts firm, ANB Communications, in 1993. In 2012, she launched her art and astrology book, Follow The Sun, with a book signing at Woman Made Gallery; the book includes several of her original watercolors. Among her many awards and honors, she was named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame’s Wall of Fame. Anne lives with her husband Bill and cat Sterling in Chicago, where she makes art and enjoys cooking, tai chi, and time in nature.
© Anne Nordhaus-Bike