Larry Walker is an American visual artist and professor emeritus of art. He often uses mixed media collages that represent “urban surfaces” on the subjects of existentialism and social injustice. Walker currently lives and works in Stonecrest, Georgia and has taught at University of the Pacific and Georgia State University.

Early life

Walker was born in Franklin, Georgia, on October 22, 1935. In 1941, several years after his father’s passing, Walker’s family moved to Harlem where he was inspired by the urban life around him. Walker mentions people-watching from his apartment building’s sixth story fire escape, experiences taking the train as a southerner in a large city, and his 145th street community as some of the major inspirations behind his work.

Career

Walker graduated from the High School of Music & Art (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School), and relocated to Detroit to attend Wayne State University, where he received both his B.S. in Art Education and M.A. in Drawing and Painting. In 1964, Walker began teaching at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California where he was a professor and later made chair of the art department. In 1983 he and his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia and he took a position as a professor and director of the art program at Georgia State University, where he taught until his retirement in 2000. He is currently represented by Mason Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.