About The Artist A propos . . . " Né à Paris en 1961. Marc Bauer-Maison est un artiste qui vit au Canada. Il a étudié à L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, section Architecture à l’Atelier Musso. Après l’obtention de son diplôme d’architecte DPLG en 1986, Marc s’oriente vers la photographie et les média en travaillant au Centre International de Recherche, le CNRS d’Ecully avec Pierre Babin. Deux ans plus tard, il part au Canada et se marie avec Barbara Bauer. Barbara était la nièce du Père David Bauer, fondateur de deux équipes Olympique de Hockey sur Glace: celle du Canada et celle du Japon. Marc est nommé Directeur Exécutif de l’Arche Stratford, fondée par Jean Vanier, de 2004 à 2007. Depuis toujours, Marc a la passion de la montagne. Il a été formé par Marc Salomez, (Professeur de guide de Haute Montagne à Chamonix) et Marc Batard (multiples records de l’Everest). Marc a enseigné l’escalade à l’Association Sportive de Paris V, Université René Descartes. En 1982, une mauvaise chute le forcera à abandonner l’escalade de haut niveau mais Marc reste très attaché au Briançonnais, de la Névache aux écrins ou il revient fréquemment pour s'adonner à sa passion: l'aquarelle et la photographie. Son travail inclut quelques natures mortes et quelques paysages, mais surtout la flore. Sa technique d'aquarelle a graduellement évolué pour devenir plus orientale. Avec le temps, ses aquarelles ont acquis une liberté d'être, une spontanéité inspirée par l'origine chinoise de ses trois enfants. Sa rencontre avec le peintre Alain Bonnefoit, de renommée internationale est décisive. Alain invite à travailler plus librement avec la technique du Sumi-e. In English . . . "Since my first exhibition in 1986, nature, as encountered in landscapes and floral expressions, has largely been the subject of my watercolor paintings. In time, perhaps not surprisingly given my chosen subject and the unique challenges associated with the discipline of watercolor painting, my hand began to acquire the simplicity and spontaneity of an "Asian" style. 2009 was a watershed. During that year I had the privilege of attending a class on the female nude offered by the renowned Sumi-e master painter Alain Bonnefoit. Sumi-e, which is also known as Asian line drawing or brush painting, seeks to capture the spirit, the essence, the fundamental nature of its subject with the fewest possible strokes of the brush. What a remarkable point of access to the human form! What a remarkable point of access to our natural beings! What a remarkable point of access to the beauty, the joy, the dignity and the ultimate mystery of the feminine au naturel." Short Biography Marc Bauer-Maison was born in Paris, France in 1961. He obtained his Baccalaureate in Mathematics and Natural Sciences in 1979. Always interested in nature and its wonders, Marc developed strong skills in hiking and mountain-climbing. He became the head of the mountain-climbing department of the University of Medicine (Université Paris V). Marc studied Architecture at l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of J-M Musso. After graduating from Architecture, Marc continued his studies in Media and Communication with P.Babin at the Université of Lyon in France before coming to Canada to teach at St. Paul University in Ottawa. It was there that he met Barbara Bauer. Marc and Barbara married in the summer of 1988 in Waterloo, Ontario. He later became a Canadian citizen. Marc and Barbara adopted three children from China: Naomi, Elisha and Natasha. In 2003, Marc was selected to exhibit at the prestigious Salon D'Automne in Paris. The following year, Marc’s work was featured in Paris’ equally famous Salon des Indépendants. Barbara passed away in August 2005 of breast cancer. Four years later during a trip to France, Marc encountered for the first time the renowned Sumi-e master painter Alain Bonnefoit—an encounter that can only be described as fateful in light of the profound influence that Bonnefoit would have on Marc’s own work. Articles and Quotes "I am going to stick with flowers - and show you a page of images which are so simplified that they are in places almost drifting off into a sort of "netherworld" of "nothingness" (Think I just invented a word there !) This does make them so appealing to me, MARC BAUER-MAISON is the artist, and it just goes to show that sometimes the minimalist approach can be the best one." K E N W I N D S O R I N T E R N E T J O U R N A L I S T (Great Britain) "The inspirations for the works of Marc Bauer-Maison are diverse, and include such historical sources as Daniel Rabel, Garzoni Giovanna, W.J. Hooker and Albrecht Durer. Additionally, the artist is strongly influenced by the floral works of contemporary watercolourist Cathy Ross. In other contexts, he draws from such 20th century sources as Andrew Wyeth and Julie Vivas. It seems, as we look over the great diversity of work, that we are invited to follow the artist's exploration of the many ways in which nature might be observed and rendered artistically. Whether the individual works may be regarded as "copies" or interpretations, they serve to bring elements of nature out of nature and into our presence. In offering plants and flowers and other subjects for our contemplation, these watercolours enable us indeed a measure of freedom in our meditations upon the relationship of material and spiritual realities." Dr Michael Bird Renison College, U. of Waterloo, Ont. Canada Light upon space upon light Flowing image of nothingness, yet full Artist's stroke caressing nature's cheek And loving it into being Dawn Kershaw-Halligan