Lar Landa, whose family has deep roots in Northern California, lives in Healdsburg, CA. He attended Columbia University, Universitas di Firenze, and Stanford University, where he received a B.A. in art in 1955. He has served on the Board of Directors for the California Museum of Art, the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, and the Sonoma Arts Council.

His paintings and sculpture have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and elsewhere. His work is in private collections worldwide. Mr. Landa continues to find new inspiration from his frequent travels to Mexico, Italy, and other parts of Europe. In 2006, the Museo ItaloAmericano in San Francisco featured a major retrospective of his art: “Carnivale/ 50 Years”.

“My interest has always been in people. To me, the human figure is the most direct way of expressing human emotions and the human condition — the most powerful form of communication. I have always drawn and painted from the model. At times, I use my drawings as starting points for my paintings. Working predominantly with acrylics, I work directly, continually changing, developing, and refining the ideas on the canvas.

Boldness with sensitivity is the quality I admire in art, and it is central to my approach. This intent is expressed in the drawing, the color, the value, and the pattern.

Each viewer brings their own life experiences to my work. In fact, among a whole group of observers, each interpretation is unique. The important thing is that a piece invites interpretation — that it creates a dialogue. As an artist, I communicate through paint."