Alumnus’ arachnid sculptures unveiled at El Paso sports park

Lars Stanley

Lars Stanley

Competitors on the sports fields in an El Paso public park will be inspired by “Rivals,” two new sculptures by [Lars Stanley] (http://archone.tamu.edu/college/people/alumni/outstanding/details.rails?id=112) , an outstanding alumnus of Texas A&M’s College of Architecture.

The hand-made forged steel sculptures, erected at a pedestrian entrance to the sports park and unveiled Aug. 24, 2011, depict a large scorpion and a vinegaroon, arachnid rivals found in El Paso’s desert environment, challenging each other in a competitive stance.

Born and raised in El Paso, Stanley, principal of [Stanley Architects and Artisans] (http://www.larsstanley.com/) , earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from Texas A&M in 1974 and is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects.

He’s won competitive national commissions for public art programs, recently completing sculptural projects in Colorado, Arizona, California, Texas and Maine. His design work helped Franklin High School earn the Caudill Design Award for the best-designed high school in Texas.

His use of crafted, artistic elements in collaborations with fellow architects’ designs have also netted awards. Examples include hand-forged railings at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport designed by PSP Architects’ Larry Speck, entry gate elements and sculpture installations at the Lake-Flato Architects’-designed Shangri-La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas, and hearth elements for a residence in New York designed for film director Steven Spielberg.

His work as an architect and artist is based in understanding how the human spirit and impulse are manifested through materials as they are transformed by hand. His projects seek to nourish a richness of culture and place, cultivating an intimate, human scale.

posted September 13, 2011