Places of Wild Things: Raffael Bader

Leipzig-based visual artist, Raffael Bader, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Germany, in 2019. 

Although he grew up in South Germany, he travelled extensively from a young age. His experiences of moving between places, as well as his longer stays abroad, have significantly influenced his artistic practice. His ideas usually begin as small, intuitive notes, which he later decides whether he wants to turn them into paintings. Once he starts working from these drawings, his paintings soon develop a life of their own.

In 2020 he began exhibiting internationally, including in Switzerland and the USA. In 2020 he received the „Denkzeit“ grant from the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, and in 2021, he received a work scholarship from the Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn.

Bader’s use of oil paint, oil pencils and different painting techniques creates a varied and tactile surface in his artworks. Thin, watery layers sit alongside thicker applications of paint, while the oil pencils introduce further textures and marks. Rather than covering the canvas completely, Bader allows parts of the surface to remain visible, giving the works a sense of openness. The different layers and textures also make the painting process perceptible. Traces of earlier gestures, overlapping applications and changes in density stay visible, allowing the viewer to understand how the work has developed over time. In this way, the surface becomes not only a visual element but also a record of the making process.