Bates was born in 1952 in Dallas, Texas, where he lives and works today. He studied art at Southern Methodist University and participated in the Independent Study Program sponsored by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where he experimented with a wide range of styles. He has been the focus of many solo museum and gallery exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions across the United States. His work is prominently collected by museums and individuals including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Dallas Museum of Art, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Nasher Sculpture Center.