Larry R. Rankin - Sculptor
» About Larry Rankin
My sculptures, abstract or non-objective are built upon a towering of shapes and forms, they reflect the collaboration of my life's experiences and the way I perceive the world through my eyes...my sculpture symbolizes the birth of a new form, not only physical form, but mentally as well. I hope you will find these reflecting qualities in my sculptures... qualities that will provide beauty and a relaxing aura. I hope you will find the same happiness and serenity in looking at my sculptures that I had in creating them.

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» Resume
Published in: Art/Life Magazine August 1981
  California Art Review 1988 (Directory of California leading
Artist, Galleries and Museums)
  Sculpture International Magazine January 1992 issue (full page)
February 1992 issue (full page)
March/April 1992 issue (full page)
Television: Channel 3 Terre Haute, Indiana
  Channel 3 Santa Barbara, California
Galleries: ArtExpo Las Vegas, 2007, Best of Show/Sculpture

Lake House Galleries, Los Angeles, Ca main sculptor 2008
Gallerie Barjur, Mammoth, Ca 2007
Santa Barbara’s Contemporary Arts Forum
Solvang’s Copenhagen Galleri (One-Man Show - upstairs gallery)
Designer Showcase International, Santa Barbara
Knapp House Design Showcase, Montecito, CA
Gallery Mack Inc, Seattle, Washington
Entheos Gallery, Santa Barbara, Ca
Northern Arizona University Art Gallery
Outsiders Gallery, Santa Barbara, Ca (One-man show)
Astra Gallery, Santa Barbara, Ca (Featured sculptor)
The Tarbox Gallery, San Diego, Ca
Cabrillo Arts Center, Santa Barbara
Guadalajara Jalisco State Cultural Fine Arts (4 ton sandstone sculpture-
Dual piece called “Brotherhood”)
Golz Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
Arpel Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA (Featured sculptor)
One Thousand Arts Studio, MD
Faulkner Gallery, Santa Barbara, (One-man exhibit in side gallery)
Affaire, Beverly Hills, Ca
Alice Bingham Gallery, Memphis, TN
Vorpal Gallery, Located in New York, Chicago, San Francisco & Laguna Beach
Hutchins Gallery, Cambria, Ca
Aaron Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana
Art Expo, New York May 2002
Sheldon Swope Art Museum (One-man exhibit in main gallery)
Corridan Gallery, Santa Barbara
ArtExpo, Las Vegas, 2007

  *****More information upon request


» Publications

Art World News
May 2008, page 30

Art World News
November 2007

Casa Magazine
May 9, 2008

Santa Barbara Independent
November 29, 2007

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
November 2, 2007

Art Business News
November 15, 2007

TribStar.com
October 25, 2007

Santa Barbara News Press
May 6, 2006

Santa Barbara News Press
September 25, 1992

Santa Barbara News Press
March 24, 1984

Tribune Star
October 25, 1992

Montecito Life
October 4, 1984

Westlake Village Art Guild
October, 1989



» Links


» More Information

Larry Rankin is a patriotic, all American, seasoned man, who abides by the kind of values that built this country. He is tall, very strong and gentle of heart. He is solid and unshakeable. In these tumultuous and unsure times, it is comforting to have his sculpture present. They have strong and unshakeable foundations. They carry a strength and a sense of wholeness. They will give you strength and comfort and fortitude in unsettling times.

When Larry walks into a room, it's as if the room turns into a fireplace and he becomes the match that sets the room aglow. His smiling eyes let you know that he has both inspected you and accepted you almost instantly. His breadth of personal human experience, his attention to form and detail, and his intense zest for living fully all find their residence in his sculptures. Somehow, in some primal way he seems to breathe his lifeforce into his art allowing his pieces to awaken before your eyes.

Through his child eyes and ears, country life inIndiana etched its way into the fabric of his being. At 14, his father died suddenly, and his childhood was over. Then Viet Nam called him to fight a battle his country couldn't accept. His wife divorced him. He came home empty and angry. Many people would have become hard and bitter. But for Larry, those experiences were the sand within the oyster that became lustrous pearls, called sculpture with the signature, Larry R. Rankin.

He enrolled inNorthern Arizona University and later graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. His appetite was insatiable. He was the last one to leave the sculpture studio at night and the first to arrive in the morning. He sneaked into the studio so he could work through the night. His pieces were powerful. The chairman of the department described his B.F.A. exhibit as "the finest in the University's history." Another professor with 35 years experience said he could count the really successful graduates on one hand...and Mr. Rankin was one of them.

He emerged inCalifornia as the young starving artist...but only for a short time. His works were soon being sold throughout Beverly Hills and up and down the coast. He has had both one man shows in both galleries and museums. He has been represented by galleries that have been in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Laguna Beach. Brotherhood, a four-ton sandstone sculpture, is on permanent exhibit at Guadalajara's Jalisco State Cultural Fine Arts Center. Dozens of galleries, museums and corporate headquarters as well as magazines and books have displayed his art.

Larry Rankin has earned a formidable international reputation. From his studio in Santa Barbara, his sculptures, made of cast bronze, carved wood and stone, range from 6" to 7 1/2'. His powerful and unusual designs convey his love of family, his sense of humor, his understanding and knowledge of abstract and non-objective form. His works are equally at home in sculpture gardens, living rooms, corporate settings, in front of large building and public facilities. This All American's strength, warmth and love of his country seeps into every landscape.