Larry Kirkland

Larry Kirkland is the artist behind Science Plaza. In addition to his work at the Science Center, Larry has created art for special places around the world, including Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan; Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon.

Larry graduated from Oregon State University in 1972 and received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 1974. He served as a professor at in the art department at OSU until he established his own studio in 1976; since that time he has focused on creating artworks for public spaces.

He has recently finished collaborations with design professionals and community leaders to create meaningful places for The Baptist Nemours Children's Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida and the , Sacramento, California. He is currently involved as a design team member on the new clinical center for the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Other current projects include the National Academies of Science in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania Station in New York City, and The American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Kirkland was recently honored as Distinguished Alumni of the Year by Oregon State University. He has also been a recipient of a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently serves on the Design Excellence Peer Review Panel for the Art and Architecture Design Excellence Program of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Larry is also dedicated to public service and has served on many non-profit boards, art selection panels and architectural award juries. His involvement with the Oregon HIV Research and Education Group and other community leaders led to the creation of Art/Aids, a community effort to raise funds for long term care of those with HIV as well as educate the general population to the compassionate care and understanding of those living with AIDS.

In 1993, Larry relocated to Washington D.C. He works part of the year in a studio in Carrara, Italy, and continues to fabricate much of the work in the Pacific Northwest.