Exhibition Dates: May 2 – July 25, 2015
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2 from 6 – 8 pm
Gallery Location: 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present Coastal Paintings, an exhibition of works on canvas and panel by David Bates. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from May 2 – July 25, 2015. The gallery will host an opening reception, with the artist in attendance, Saturday, May 2 from 6-8 pm. A catalog will accompany the exhibition.
Salt Marsh, 2014. Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches.
Coastal Paintings is David Bates’ eighth exhibition with the gallery and consists of small- to large-scale oil paintings on canvas and panel. Employing his distinctive bold style, Bates continues to document the people and landscapes of the Gulf Coast. His portraits of fishermen and coast natives avow his esteem for his subjects and their absolute fortitude. Like them, his striking landscapes evoke a quiet solitude, yet often with hints of recovery from or preparation for more ominous times. Equally resilient and captivating are the Magnolias and other flora realized by his characteristic and masterful thick, lush strokes.
In a recent interview with Arthur Roger, which is featured in the exhibition catalog, Bates expresses his affinity for his subject matter, “If you paint from a certain place that you know, there’s a depth and an involvement with that place that grows over time that makes the work richer.” These translations of his experiences are described by Marla Price, Director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, as “works of art that transcend regional boundaries.”
David Bates was born in Dallas, Texas in 1952 and continues to reside there. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University followed by his Master of Fine Arts in 1978. In 1987 his work was included in the prestigious Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2007 the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, in association with Scala Publishers, published a comprehensive monograph entitled David Bates. A second monograph was published in conjunction with his 2014 joint retrospective at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. The exhibitions featured works on paper, paintings and sculpture from his thirty-plus year career. Bates’ work is in collections throughout the United States including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York; The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; The Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City; and The New Orleans Museum of Art.