As a result of a diverse family background, Larissa Bates was raised between Vermont and Vara Blanca, Costa Rica. Her elaborate small-scale paintings often depict family environments where the artist includes some of her relatives, mainly her aunt and grandmother, and sometimes herself. When Bates inquires into social functions of families and the role of women in creating identities, she does that from a personal point of view, but also referring to a broader cultural phenomenon. To create her vibrant, sometimes sunny, somehow dreamlike domestic scenes, Bates relies on her technical minuteness, which leads her to work as attentive to detail as a manuscript illuminator. This impression is enhanced by the materials that the artist uses: not only gouache and ink, but also mother of pearl and gold leaf.

Larissa Bates graduated from Hampshire College in 2003 with a degree in Studio Art. She has been the recipient of the Artadia Award and was a resident artist at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Larissa Bates was born in 1981 and lives and works in New York. Her work is part of permanent collections such as the West Collection (USA), the 21c Museum Hotels (USA), The Howard A. and Judith Tullman Collection (USA), and the Wellington Management Collection (USA).