Serena Bates
Over 40 years ago, Serena Bates started her journey of exploration and interpretation of the world around her through art. Beginning probably at the age of 8 or 9, she started with pencil and paper and went on to study traditional figure painting and anatomy at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and the Rhode Island School of Design.
Over the years she has explored many mediums including charcoal, pastel, oil and acrylic paint to name a few, but when she discovered clay, she went over to the “Dark Side” as she likes to say. She had finally found her soul mate and companion saying, “When you find a material that you can work with tirelessly for hours and think minutes have passed, and your excitement still bubbles over when you leave the studio for the day, you have found home.” The artist describes herself as a story teller with an affinity for portraits and animals. “Life’s stories plant seeds in my mind, take shape in my soul, and are born through my sculptures.”
Clay, Bronze and Stone are her mediums of choice. Being non-traditional in her approach, she does not take measurements, but instead relies on her eye and sense of observation to interpret a subject. Trusting intuition and a connection to the subject are more important to her than static measurements. This approach breathes life into her work and produces what she calls a “wabi-sabi” affect, the Japanese term that literally means the beauty found in imperfection or “imperfectly perfect.”
Serena has exhibited in nationally known exhibitions and galleries across the United States and Canada. She has won many prestigious awards and honors during her career from the American Artists Professional League, Allied Artists of America, the Salmagundi Club, the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Club, the Academic Artist Association, Mystic Museum of Art to name only a few. The artist is also a member of the American Society of Marine Artists, Artists for Conservation, Allied Artists of America, American Artists Professional League and Salmagundi Club.
To hear more about her personal philosophy and see current works, visit her site www.serenabates.com and follow her on Instagram and/or Facebook.
Serena Bates Sculpture
32 Ann Street
Westerly, RI 02891
(401) 932-9775
serenabates.com
batessculpture@gmail.com
Personal Statement:
Who doesn’t love a good story? Tales of adventure and mystery have always caught my attention. I didn’t realize it at first, but I am a storyteller. I tell stories through each piece I create. From a Rat lovingly embracing a bird skull (paying homage to Gollum from Lord of the Rings as he is title “My Precious”) to my newest work “Sirena and Octavius” (A whimsical mermaid having a conversation with and Octopus). I love fantasy and the unexpected and try to bring that into my work. In the age of internet, fast food, and instant gratification, I want to engage my audience with an idea and let them fill in the blanks to create a story for themselves. Use their imagination to fill in the blanks.
I once did an installation at a 3-story gallery in New London, CT called the Hygienic, actually an old diner in a prior life. In the basement I discovered a doorway that had been bricked over and closed permanently. Where had that door gone? Who had bricked it over—and why? My mind immediately went to Edgar Allen Poe, The Telltale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado—and I saw a crow, warning “Nevermore” if we don’t change our ways.
As I climbed the winding, creaky staircase up to the gallery, that crow grew into an entire flock—a murder of crows, ascending in dire warning from basement to second floor, winding up the stairs, perching on sills, glaring from moldings, swooping from the ceiling. —and The Hartford Courant described the set of sculptures that resulted from this vision as “the show-stopper.”
Stories are what define my work, what drive my vision, what inspire my hands…my life. My sculptures bring those stories to life, incorporating a mixture of ideas and visions from people around me, the environment, and materials where I’m working, and that sudden burst of illumination—often coming after I’m well into the sculpting process.
Life’s stories plant seeds in my mind, take shape in my soul, and are born through my sculptures. I hope to share my vision of the world.
AWARDS
2024
The Crossings
May 11 – June 17, 2024
Hygienic Art Gallery, New London, CT
Juror: Dana Naumann
Award: Honorable Mention (Precipice)
2024 Salmagundi Members Exhibition
Feb 26 – March 29, 2024
Salmagundi Club, NY, NY
Juror: Patricia Watwood
Award: Harry R. Ballinger Memorial Award “Preaching to the Choir”
2023
126th Annual Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Open Juried Exhibition
Nov 27- Dec 8, 2023
Salmagundi Club, NY
Jurors: Michael Keropian
Anna Hyatt Huntington Bronze Medal: “Shoo Fly”
Resilience
Oct 19 – Nov 11, 2023
South County Art Association, Kingston, RI
Juror: Ben Anderson
Honorable Mention: “My Precious”
SCNY Animals: Domestic and Working Exhibition
Aug 28 – Sept 28, 2023
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Robert Pilsbury
First Prize: “Zen Zen”
Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts CAFA + 112th Annual Exhibition
June 10 – July 22, 2023
Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Old Lyme CT
First Place Sculpture: “Emancipation”
73rd Annual Exhibition of Traditional Realism
May 21 – June 18, 2022
Academic Artists Association
Arts Center East, Vernon, CT
Juror: Del Bourree Bach
Award of Honor: “Isjborns – Ice Bears”
2022
CLWAC Annual Members Exhibition
October 2022
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
Lyme Art Association, Lyme CT
Juror: Robert Pilsbury
Honorable Mention: “My Precious”
SCAA All Media 2 Exhibition
Oct 20 – Nov 12
South County Art Association, Kingston, RI
Juror: Del-Bourree-Bach
Award: 3rd Place “Sirena & Octavious”
CLWAC 125th Annual Open Exhibition
June 20 – 30, 2022
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Joseph Beardsley Sandor Memorial Award:
“Dolly on the Rocks”
72nd Annual Exhibition of Traditional Realism
May 12 – June 5, 2022
Academic Artists Association
Arts Center East, Vernon, CT
Juror: David Brega
Award of Merit: “Up Dog”
ACGOW Regional Art Exhibition
May 6 – 29, 2022
Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Westerly, RI
Juror: Michael Rose, Manager, Providence Art Club
Katherine Forest Crafts Foundation Mabel Kingsbury Fentress Award:
“Love Story, Sirena & Octavius”
113th Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Nov 23, 2021 – Jan 1, 2022
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Robert Pilsbury
Alphaeus P. Cole Memorial Award: “Star Gazer”
Society of Connecticut Sculptors Exhibition
Nov 19 – Jan 2, 2022
Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT
Juror: Norman Legasse
Third Prize: “Gemini”
2021
93rd Annual Grand National Exhibition of the
American Artists Professional League
Nov 8 – 19, 2021
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Peter Trippi, editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur
Barbara Newington Award for Traditional Sculpture:
“Miss Independence”
Audubon Artists 79th Annual Exhibition
Oct 25 – Nov 5, 2021
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Michael Cagno, Executive Director and Curator of Noyes
Museum of Art, NJ
Marion & Gill Roller Memorial Award: “Upward Dog”
Connected Land and Sea National Exhibition
June 17 – July 18, 2021
Copley Society of Boston, Boston, MA
Juror: Don Demers
Second Place: “Leviathan”
Seaport, Small Works
May 6 – Aug 29, 2021
Copley Society of Boston, Boston, MA
Award of Excellence: “Sir Penguin”
Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts CAFA + Members Exhibition
Feb 6 – Mar 20, 2021
Web: www.ctacedemy.org
Third Place: “I Am Woman”
2020
Salmagundi Club Annual Members Exhibition
Oct 20 – Nov 6, 2020
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Philip Isenberg Memorial Award: “Paradise Lost”
Land and Sea – Annual Elected Artists Exhibition
Oct 9 – Nov 19, 2020
Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT
Juror: Robert Pilsbury
Third Prize: “Shoo Fly”
Salmagundi Club Annual Members Exhibition
Aug 10 – 28, 2020
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Edmond Rochat
Mary Fitch Memorial Award: “Padawan”
107th Annual Associate Member Juried Exhibition (online)
Allied Artists of America
May 18 – Aug 21, 2021
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Excellence in Sculpture: “Amun Ra”
*Elected Artist Status Awarded*
2020 Annual Members Exhibition
May 20, 2020
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Claudia Seymour
Philip Isenberg Memorial Award: “Precipice”
Black & White Exhibition
Feb 3 – 21, 2020
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Robert Pilsbury
Margery Sorokava Award: “Miss Independence”
Mystic Museum of Art Members Exhibition
Jan 30 – Feb 29, 2020
Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT
Award of Merit: “Up Dog”
CLWAC 123rd Annual Open Exhibition
Jan 7 – 31, 2020
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
National Arts Club, New York, NY
Jurors: Norman Legassie and Marc Mellon
Charlotte Dunwoodie Award for Contemporary
Realism: “Miss Independence”
2019
Annual Artists for Conservation International Juried Exhibition
Sept 26 – 29, 2019
Artists for Conservation, Vancouver, Canada
Environmental Statement Award: “Survivor”
2019 Annual Members Exhibition
Apr 28 – May 8, 2019
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Award of Honor: “Enlightened”
110th Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Dec 3, 2018 – Jan 1, 2019
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Philip Isenberg Memorial Award: “Putin on the Ritz”
2018
90th Grand National Exhibition
Nov 11 – 19, 2018
American Artists Professional League
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Stephanie L Heidrich
Marilyn Newmark Memorial Award: “Precipice”
2018 ACCOW Regional Exhibition
May 4 – 27, 2018
Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Westerly, RIJuror: Michael Peery
Katherine Forest Foundation Award: “Leviathan”
100th Duxbury Art Association Show
Feb 4 – Apr 22, 2018
Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA
Jurors: Crystal Duell, Julie Beck, Tim Ian Mitchell, Cindy Vallino, and Craig Bloodgood
Second Place for Sculpture: “Survivor”
CLWAC 121st Annual Open Exhibition
Jan 9 – 26, 2018
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, New York, NY
Jurors: Gwen Pier and Elizabeth Allison
Council of American Artist Society Award for Traditional Sculpture:
“Amun Ra”
2017
109th Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Dec 8 – 31, 2017
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Alpheous P. Cole Award: “Hello Dolly”
Society of Connecticut Sculptors Annual Members Exhibition
Oct 1 – Nov 29, 2017
Lime Art Association, Old Lyme, CT
People’s Choice Award: “Head Over Heels”
American Artists Professional League 89th Annual
Grand National Exhibition
Oct 20 – Dec 29, 2017
Online Exhibition, New York, NY
Jurors: David A. Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Jacqueline Kamin
Helen G. Oehler Memorial Award: “Survivor”
South County Art Association’s All Media II Exhibition
Oct 19 – Nov 11, 2017
South County Art Association, South Kingstown, RI
Juror: Debra Lee Valeri
Honorable Mention: “Amun Ra”
Allied Artists of America 104th Annual Exhibition
Aug 31 – Sept 17, 2017
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Lisa Chalif, Curator Heckscher Museum of Art
Lindsey Morris Memorial Award: “The Game of Cat and Mouse”
South County Art Association’s All Media Exhibition
June 8 – July 8, 2017
South County Art Association, South Kingstown, RI
Juror: Kathy Hodge
Second Place: “Survivor”
What Scares You Most? Exhibition
March 4 – 26, 2017
DeBlois Gallery, Newport, RI
People’s Choice Award: “Gaia”
2016
67th National Exhibit of Contemporary Realism in Art
May 1 – 19, 2016
Academic Artists Association
Community Art Center, Vernon, CT
Juror: Robert Obrien AWS, NWS; John C. Traynor
Honorable Mention: “Amun Ra”
New England Landscape Invitational Exhibition
Sept 1 – Nov 5, 2016
Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT
People’s Choice Award: “Rapunzel”
Society of Connecticut Sculptors Annual Members Exhibition
Sept 1 – Nov 5, 2016
Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT
Second Place: “Leviathan”
Society of Connecticut Sculptors Summer Exhibition
Aug 1 – 26, 2016
Acton Public Library, Acton, CT
Members Choice Award: “Spirit”
Third Place: “Spirit”
2015
On the Road Exhibit
Oct 3 – Nov 15, 2015
Courtyard Gallery, Mystic, CT
People’s Choice Award: “Go Ask Alice”
Second Place: “Go Ask Alice”
2014
CLWAC 119th Annual Open Exhibition
Dec 2 – 19, 2014
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, New York, NY
Jurors: Marilyn J. Friedman & Gwen Pier
Leila Garden Sawyer Award for Sculpture: “Bagheera”
Society of Connecticut Sculptors 20th Annual Members Exhibition
Aug 1 – Sept 20, 2014
Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CT
Members Memorial Award: “Stubborn Is as Stubborn Does”
Salmagundi Club Annual Members Exhibition
Aug 11 – 29, 2014
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Members Memorial Award: “Dreamer”
Three Rivers College Art Show
April 12 – May 3, 2014
Bean and Leaf, New London, CT
Best in Show: “Green Goddess”
2013
Singular Visions Exhibition
Aug 26 – Sept 27, 2013
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Second Place: “Continuum”
2012
ACGOW Exhibition
May 2, 2012
Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Westerly, RI
Katherine Forest Craft Foundation Award: “Stubborn Is
as Stubborn Does”
First Prize: “Stubborn Is as Stubborn Does”
62nd National Exhibit of Contemporary Realism in Art
April 29 – June 14, 2012
Jurors: Jane Lund, Arthur Scholtz
Karen Sprague Cultural Arts Center, Springfield, MA
Carla Santa and Associates Award: “I Am Woman”
Annual Elected Artists Exhibition
Jan 13 – Feb 18, 2012
Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT
Honorable Mention: “Denizen of the Deep”
103rd Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Dec 7, 2011 – Jan 1, 2012
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Honorable Mention: “Wave Runner”
2011
101st Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Dec 7, 2011 – Jan 1, 2012
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Alphaeus P. Cole Memorial Award: “Revelation”
CLWAC 115th Annual Open Exhibition
Oct 4 – 28, 2011
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
National Arts Club, New York, NY
Juror: Barbara Lekberg
Leonard J. Meiselman Memorial Award: “I Am Woman”
61st National Exhibit of Contemporary Realism in Art
May 1 – June 14, 2011
Academic Artists Association
Karen Sprague Cultural Arts Center, Springfield, MA
Jurors: Christopher Zhang & Maris Platis
Carla Santia & Associates Award: “Little Mermaid”
2010
127th Annual Members Exhibition
Oct 20 – Nov 22, 2010
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Juror: Michael Gormley
Philip Isenberg Memorial Award: “Green Goddess”
18th Annual Sculpture Exhibition
June 4 – July 30, 2010
Society of Connecticut Sculptors
Alexy Von Schlippee Gallery of Art, Groton, CT
Third Prize: “Stubborn Is as Stubborn Does”
2009
126th Annual Members Exhibition
Nov 16 – 27, 2009
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Harry R. Ballinger Memorial Award: “Hello Dolly”
ACGOW All Members Show
Oct 7 – 24, 2009
Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Westerly, RI
People’s Choice Award: “Hello Dolly”
First Place: “Hello Dolly”
Those Delectable Vices Exhibition
Oct 5 – 30, 2009
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Award of Merit: “Living Large”
53rd Annual Juried Regional Art Show
Aug 7 – Sept 26, 2009
Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT
Juror: Carolina Pedraza
Mabel Kingsbury Fentress Award: “Dolly on a Log”
2009 All Media Open Juried Exhibit
May 21 – June 6, 2009
South County Art Association, Kingston, RI
Juror: Julie Thomas Doran
Honorable Mention: “Poseidon’s Bride”
Elected Artists Exhibition
April 16 – May 17, 2009
Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT
Award for Excellence: “Poseidon’s Bride”
2008
100th Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Dec 8, 2008 – Jan 2, 2009
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Certificate of Merit: “Poseidon’s Bride”
Salmagundi Club Annual Summer Exhibition
Aug 4 – 22, 2008
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Members Memorial Award for Sculpture: “Just Another
Charlie Horse”
58th National Exhibition of Contemporary Realism in Art
April 8 – May 18, 2008
Academic Artists Association
Karen Sprague Cultural Arts Center, Springfield, MA
Jurors: Robert K. Carsten and Robert O’Brien
Award for Excellence in Sculpture: “Zhen Zhen”
2007
99th Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition
Dec 3, 2007 – Jan 4, 2008
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Certificate of Merit: “Fallen Angel”
Annual Members Combined Exhibition
Jan 8 – Feb 2, 2007
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Honorable Mention Award for Sculpture: “BOXER”
2006 and Earlier
29th Annual Juried Paintings, Graphics & Sculpture Exhibition for Non-Members
June 19 – 30, 2006
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Joseph Hartley Memorial Award for Sculpture: “Shoo Fly”
2004 Members Annual
Aug 19 – Sept 11, 2004
South County Art Association, Kingston, RI
Juror: Kristin Street
Honorable Mention: “Poseidon’s Bride”
54th National Exhibition of Contemporary Realism in Art
April 4 – 23, 2004
Academic Artists Association
First Church Street Gallery, Springfield, MA
Jurors: Paul Leveill and Sandra Wakeen
Second Place for Sculpture: “Charlie”
All Creatures Great and Small Exhibition
Jan 18 – Feb 4, 2004
Wickford Art Association, Wickford, RI
Juror: Douglas Peck
First Place: “Charlie”
53rd National Exhibition of Contemporary Realism in Art
April 2003
Academic Artists Association
First Church Street Gallery, Springfield, MA
Council of American Societies Award for Traditional Sculpture:
“Sun Kissed”
Convergence 2001: Warwick
September 9 – 30, 2001
Warwick Arts Foundation, Warwick, RI
Second Place Award for Sculpture: “Bagheera”
Members Show
April 11 – May 18, 2001
Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT
Members Excellence Award for Sculpture: “Nanook”
ACGOW 2001 Juried Regional Show
March 3 – 27, 2001
Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Westerly, RI
Juror: Frank Federico
Third Place: “Stellar Expectations”
Convergence 2000: Warwick
Sept 9 – Oct 8, 2000
Warwick Arts Foundation, Warwick, RI
Second Place: “The Gloucester Man”
ACGOW 1998 Juried Regional Show
Feb 26 – March 23, 1998
Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, Westerly, RI
Juror: Betsy Bessinger
Best in Show: “Gourmet Delight” (Pastel)