Ware Malcomb CEO and Kent State Alumnus Lawrence R. Armstrong’s Layered Vision Exhibit Showcased at New Gallery
Ware Malcomb, an award-winning international design firm, today announced the grand opening of the new Lawrence R. and Sandra C. Armstrong Gallery located within Kent State University’s new College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) building. The artwork of Ware Malcomb Chief Executive Officer Lawrence R. Armstrong, who is also an accomplished artist and an alumnus of Kent State, will be featured as the first exhibit of the new gallery. A grand opening ceremony was held today at Kent State to celebrate the official opening of both the gallery and CAED building.
As an important venue for expanded knowledge and peer-reviewed experimentation in the area of visual arts, the Lawrence R. and Sandra C. Armstrong Gallery will feature student and faculty projects, site-specific installations, traveling exhibitions, design competitions and other curated events that expand the CAED’s audiences and partnerships. It will also provide a provocative public forum for design discourse and dissemination.
Armstrong’s Layered Vision exhibit, which will run through December 2016, will include pieces from his Layered Canvas Series, iPhone Sketches Series, Layered Paper Series, Layered Glass Series, Symbols and his newly finished Layered Metal Series. At the conclusion of the exhibition, Armstrong will be donating a piece from the exhibit for permanent display at the new gallery.
“It’s very special for me to be a part of this gallery opening within Kent State’s new College of Architecture and Environmental Design,” said Armstrong. “This space combines two of my life’s passions – architecture and art – in the very place where they were first nurtured as a college student at Kent State. I’m honored to share my work as an artist for the gallery’s first exhibit, and am confident this will become a place for both education and inspiration for current and future students at the school.”
Armstrong’s work has appeared in numerous high profile international art exhibitions and galleries, including Agora Gallery in New York City, ArtExpo in New York City, Iocandina Synchronies in Madrid, Art Tour International in Toronto, Art Tour International in Miami, Art Fusion Galleries in Miami, and Art Blend in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Armstrong’s paintings and sculptures represent an ongoing exploration of the concept of layers: both how they interact and intersect with one another, and also the meanings contained within. For Armstrong, layers are to be found everywhere: in space and time, in intellect, in emotion, and in the synthesis and interpretation of form. Whether two- or three-dimensional in scope, the artwork that results is almost multisensory in nature, eliciting from the viewer a multifaceted experience of the wondrous complexity that ultimately composes our world. A piece of artwork is often precipitated by flashes of light and inspiration derived from anything from written text to music to a particular event. Regardless of its origins, through his art Armstrong explores the natural tension inherent in opposing forces, whether it’s the natural world versus built environments, or other paradigms such as chaos/order, free form/precision, random/planned action, and solid/void.
Armstrong has received numerous individual awards for personal art and design, including: the Sandro Botticelli Prize in Florence, Italy, Artavita 9th & 10th Contests, ATIM Masters Award, ATIM Choice Award, AIA Honor Award, OC Design Community Art Exhibition, Terminal Tower Design Competition Award, Shaker Square Circle within a Square Design Competition, and Cleveland Award.
More information on Armstrong’s personal work as an artist can be found at www.lraart.com.