If you’re looking for Ware Malcomb Chief Executive Lawrence Armstrong this weekend, you’ll likely find him in Chicago, presenting his personal handiwork at a 3-D art fair.
Armstrong is an accomplished artist who showcases his work at premier exhibits across the country. Starting Friday, he’ll be in Booth B34 at the Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) Fair, which takes place through Sunday in Festival Hall at the Navy Pier. Armstrong plans to exhibit work from his Layered Vision series that includes layered metal artwork and layered glass sculptures.
“I’ve been an artist my whole life,” said Armstrong. “Art is my weekend job. Producing art inspires creativity into my contributions to the business, and makes me a better architect and CEO.”
Armstrong, whose international planning and architecture firm is based in Irvine, California, said it’s an honor to present his work at the prestigious SOFA show. “SOFA really embraces the intersection of art and design, which I can personally relate to in my work as both an architect and an artist,” Armstrong said.
In fact, Armstrong said, his professional life parallels his personal passion. “My work, both in art and architecture, is an ongoing exploration of the concept of layers,” he said. “I have always been aware of, and fascinated by, layers in the natural and built environment.”
Armstrong takes his art seriously. In 2016, the Lawrence R. and Sandra C. Armstrong Gallery opened at Kent State University’s new College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The gallery, built to encourage and expand knowledge and experimentation in the visual arts, features student and faculty projects and hosts site-specific installations and traveling exhibitions. Armstrong and his wife Sandra both are alumni of Kent State in Northeast Ohio.
Armstrong is also designing the Post 9/11 War Memorial, a traveling exhibit, to honor servicemen and women who died in the war on terrorism. The circular memorial features layered glass panels on the outside that represent the “fragility of human life and the layers of emotion that our military families feel,” Armstrong explained. The pavilion, 30 feet in diameter, rests on a platform measuring 70 feet by 100 feet and bears the name of every member of the armed forces who lost their life in the ongoing war, permanently etched into the glass panels on the outside.
This weekend, some 35,000 people are slated to attend the SOFA event where Armstrong, represented by Joseph Gallery of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will present his work.
Did You Know? Last month, Armstrong had a three-week exhibition at the Galleria 360 EmozionArte show is Florence, Italy. In December, he plans to exhibit his artwork at the Spectrum Miami Show.