Mary Cara Bates is a New York–based mixed media artist who works primarily in painting and collage. She earned a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Previously she studied with sculptor Joseph Mack at Huntington Fine Arts in Huntington, NY, and studied abroad in Yorkshire, UK. Her artistic practice is rooted in engagement with place, drawing inspiration from her experiences traveling in cities and in nature. Bates builds richly layered compositions using cut and torn fragments from her drawings, paintings, and prints. The fragmentation reflects an emotional and intellectual response to changing memories of experiences over the passage of time. Bold color, fluid mark-making and contrasting textures combine to reconstruct a harmonious new whole from the pieces.
Solo Exhibition
2024-25
Radius Gallery at Arc Stages, Harborwalk
Curated by Stuart Cameron Vance
Pleasantville, NY
Group Exhibitions
2026
Long Beach Island Foundation, Works on Paper
Joanna Sheers Seidenstein, juror
Long Beach Island, NJ
Dodomu Gallery, Geometric Gestures
Juried online exhibit
Brooklyn, NY
Drawing Rooms, On the Grid, Off the Grid
Anne Trauben, juror
Jersey City, NJ
2025
Carter Burden Gallery, Out of the Shadows
Karin Bruckner, Stephen Cimini, and Stewart Siskind, jurors
New York, NY
2024
Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Works on Paper
Charlotta Kotik, juror
Brooklyn, NY
2020
Garrison Art Center, Small Works
Paulien Lethen, juror
Garrison, NY
2018
The Blue Door Art Center, Kinda Blue
Luis Perelman amd Michele Amaro, jurors
Yonkers, NY
2016
SPACE Gallery at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust,
The John Riegert Show
Brett Yasko, curator
Pittsburgh, PA
2014
Julia Butterfield Library,
Art at the Library: Mary Bates and Sarah Gurland
Luanne Morse, curator
Cold Spring, NY
2010
Cold Spring Arts, Inaugural Open Studio Tour
Cold Spring, NY
2002
Ely Center of Contemporary Art, Group Show
Paul Clabby, curator
New Haven, CT
Competitions
2026
Teravarna Art Gallery, 10th Color
International Juried Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention
San Francisco, CA
Press
Luby, Abby. “Enticing Collages Captivate Arc Stages’ New Exhibit,” The Examiner News, November 15, 2024