About The Artist : Robert Bates

Robert Bates (or Tishi) was born in Sydney Australia in 1981 but has spent much of his life both living and travelling throughout the US and Europe. He became heavily involved in street art around the age of 13, using it as a medium where he could freely express all that was a part of his life. Inspired by artists such as Basquiat, Picasso, Frida, and Cy Twombly.

Robert began taking his art further, experimenting with different media and questioning both his background and beliefs. At 17 Robert moved to New York immersing himself in the underground art scene.  During his time in New York he moved away from the ‘typical’ street art style and spent his time working on canvases where he would re-create very layered backgrounds - reminiscent of the walls he had grown up painting, and also started to use written words and images that communicated his desires, emotions and truths.

After New York Robert moved to Serbia to study fine arts at the Academy of Fine Arts Belgrade. It was here during the conflicts and war that he came to understand that the faces one sees on the streets are a pure reflection of the state of both society and humanity. Drawn to communicate the feelings he saw hidden behind these faces and to expose his own feelings, hopes, and life story Robert creates art pieces that allow people to feel what he has seen and to look into both his and their own reality and imagination.

Robert’s art uses painting, drawing, photography, writing, and sculpture. He has been commissioned, and his art has sold to collectors in the US, and Europe.