Anne Bachelier

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Anne Bachelier is a master of Fantasy and Surrealism using her Flemish paint handling line and detail to create highly imaginative, metaphysical dream like fantasies evoking feelings simultaneously powerful, peaceful and protective. In her latest series she explores the zodiac while her Goyaesque use of light and shadow further communicates the ethereal, whimsical gestures of her otherworldly emissaries from some spiritual realm far beyond the grasp of this earthly plane.

Anne is widely accepted as a master of Surrealism, line and detail. She challenges the viewer to become a part of the story of each painting.

Born in Louvigné du Désert in 1949, Anne attended the School of Fine Arts in La Seyne-sur-Mer, specifically the engraving workshop. From 1966 to 1969, she then transitioned into practicing the technique of painting on silk. Anne initially created utilitarian objects scarves, cushions, etc. and for several years, silk painting allowed her to work with Dassault Aviation on the decoration of Falcon business jets.

In 1989, Anne abandoned silk painting to return to the more traditional practice of oil painting, she very quickly turned to what is closest to her heart, the themes that are still present in her paintings today.

Bacheliers mastery of art history, captivates her audience with compelling highly imaginative images that are distinct, unique, inventive and immediately recognizable. Her metaphysical, dream-like fantasies evoke feelings simultaneously powerful, peaceful, and protective. This unique “other” world, untouched by time or place, reminds the viewer of the eternal dance of transformation and regeneration.

In Bachelier’s modern synthesis of the Rococo and the Surreal, her eclectic cast of characters enact their drolleries in numinous, heavenly expanses, where ethereal and material elements appear infinitely interchangeable. The sense of a world in which earthly and otherworldly qualities are constantly shifting and intermingling is enhanced by Bachelier’s almost Flemish paint handling, which glides easily on oil pigment’s natural viscosity between glisteningly transparent glazes and juicy, succulent impastoes. The drama of her pictures is further heightened by her Goyaesque way with light and shadow. Communicating with symbolic gestures and enigmatic chimerical creatures, Bachelier’s paintings suggest emissaries from some spiritual realm far beyond the scope and grasp of this earthly plane.

The art of Anne Bachelier is exhibited in museums and private collections throughout Europe and North America. She is on permanent exhibition in New York City, New Orleans, and at the Chateau Belcastel in France..

Anne Bachelier (1949) was born in Louvigne du Desert, France, and received her degree from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, La Seyne-Sur-Mer between 1966 and 1970. She currently lives and works near Grenoble, France.

Artist Statement — Anne Bachelier

My work exists in the space between reality and imagination — a place where dreams, myths, and symbolic transformations quietly unfold. I am drawn to inner landscapes where figures evolve, merge, or dissolve, and where narratives emerge not from logic but from intuition.
Each painting is a portal into a world that feels familiar yet otherworldly, inhabited by beings who carry both human emotion andarchetypal presence.
Through these images, I explore metamorphosis, vulnerability, mystery, and the timeless cycles of change that shape the human experience.
My practice is rooted in classical training at the École des Beaux-Arts, where I studied engraving before beginning several years of silk painting. Eventually, oil painting became my chosen language — one that allows me to build atmospheric depth, sculpt light and shadow, and create the immersive realms that define my work today. I strive for a balance between detail and ambiguity, inviting viewers to complete the narrative themselves. Each canvas becomes a shared space where my visions meet the imagination of the observer.
A meaningful part of my artistic journey has been my long-standing connection with New Orleans, a city whose spirit resonates deeply with my own visual universe. Through many years of exhibitions with Angela King Gallery, my work has found a home in a place celebrated for its magic, history, and sense of mystery.
The cultural richness of New Orleans — its folklore, its reverence for the surreal, and its emotional intensity — has created a natural dialogue with my paintings.
The city’s audiences have welcomed the dreamlike worlds I create, allowing my images to enter a vibrant artistic community where storytelling is central to everyday life.
Across my career, whether illustrating literary classics, creating artist’s books, or developing new cycles of paintings, I remain committed to exploring the subtle states of being that exist just beyond the surface of the ordinary world. I paint to reveal the quiet yet powerful spaces where emotion, myth, and imagination converge.
My hope is to offer viewers a moment of suspension — a chance to step into another realm, travel through its shadows and light, and return with something transformed within themselves.