The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present David Bates: The Coast, an exhibition of works on canvas by David Bates. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from November 2 until December 21. The gallery will host an opening reception, with the artist in attendance, Saturday, November 2 from 6–8 pm. A catalog will accompany the exhibition. 

The Coast is David Bates’ ninth exhibition with the gallery and consists of small- to large-scale oil paintings on canvas and panel that the artist painted over the last 25 years. 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, “It’s about that epic moment in the middle of the ocean to the ordinary things that are around people’s houses like gardenias, which are always somewhere on the Coast. That’s the feeling I’m trying to capture with this show.” 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 sculptures 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.  

For more information please contact the Arthur Roger Gallery at 504.522.1999 or visit our website at www.arthurrogergallery.com.