Larissa Bates
Rock men arrive at Island with Dobbs Ferry Women
2011
Larissa Bates at Espacio Minimo Gallery, Madrid American born in Costa Rica, Larissa Bates focus her art on the critique of gender roles and the study of colonial policies between Costa Rica and the USA. From May 19th to July 22nd, 2011]]>
Source: Espacio Mínimo Gallery / theartwolf.com
Bates is the great-granddaughter of the former vice president of the United Fruit Company, which controlled the banana trade in Costa Rica from 1925 to 1932. The company brought some progress to Costa Rica, but it also implemented racism -banning workers of color from the company- and exploited Costa Rican citizens. As the press note explains, “as a descendant of both the colonized and the colonizers, Bates’ paintings explore the interdependence of these two groups”. Works such as “Two Mrs. Nixons (after John Adam’s ‘Nixon in China’) and Chiquita Bananass” (2011) are a good example of these themes.
Another central theme in Larissa Bates’ works is the investigation of gender roles. The “Mother Man” character (described in the press note as a “wrestler who embodies qualities that are very nurturing in addition to being athletic, heroic and noble”) is the main protagonist of this investigation, and the central character in works such as “Wrestlers doing a Sit Out with Rock Men” (2011).
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