A dominant theme in George Bates’ work is convergence and how nature, objects, and people meet and form a greater whole. If you view only the individual components of the whole, you may fail to see the larger ideas and systems to which they are connected. At Beach 36 St, Bates designed a lyrical composition with a bold, yet playful spirit, that expresses his feelings about the Rockaways. Created in glass block in the station's stair landings, the glass brings in light and brightens the station. The design on the southbound side, which receives the strongest light, features a spiral formed of people’s heads, rendered in deep blue and heavy line. These are profiles that overlap one another, building up and snowballing into a large element: a community. This main section is accented by bursts and waves of color, pops of yellow among strikes of blue and occasional reds. Different elements were designed to reveal themselves at closer viewing. From afar, the artwork reads as one unified design. 

The northbound side of the station also has a large circular form; here, it's bands of waving color set among abstracted and small-scale geometric patterns. In the rhythm and flavor of the work, Bates shows his expertise as an artist who is best known for a vivid and animated style. Here he distills the essence of the beachside community that surrounds Beach 36 St — with a spirited, joyous rendition that achieves its musical title, with its waves and crescendos of color, pattern, and form. 

The art resonates over time with riders making their daily commute to and from the station. In addition, the strong ocean light projects through the thick glass and the bands of color, creating colorful shadows that change as the sun passes overhead. At night the glass block artwork will appear to glow from within due to the station’s mezzanine interior light. 

Bates is familiar with the neighborhood and the state of mind found in New York City’s beachfront string of neighborhoods. An avid surfer, he has been a regular visitor to the Rockaways for over twenty years, forming bonds with locals and the landscape, in which he is pleased to have a hand, via his permanent artwork at the station. 

After many years living in New York, George Bates is now a New Jersey-based artist. His work has been exhibited at the Laguna Art Museum in California, and in a variety of group shows worldwide. Bates's public art projects are a direct outgrowth of his interest in exploring the plastic nature of systems, communities, complexities, aesthetics, and the realities and satisfactions of societal living in relation to art.