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Born in Port Hueneme, California in 1950, Larry Kirkland grew up in a military family and his family moved frequently, both domestically and overseas. From 1968 to 1972, Kirkland attended Oregon State University, where he studied art and worked in the Instructional Materials and Research Center. He completed an Honor's Bachelor of Science degree at the end his four years of study. Kirkland continued his education at the University of Kansas where, in 1974, he took a Master in Fine Arts degree in design, focusing on fiber arts. After graduating from the University of Kansas, Kirkland returned to OSU to fill a temporary vacancy in the Art Department created by a faculty member on sabbatical leave; Kirkland served as Visiting Professor of Art at OSU from 1974 to 1976.

Larry Kirkland is well-known for his large-scale, “multi-dimensional” public art works, which have been installed in a wide variety of public spaces, from municipal buildings and universities, to libraries and urban parks. His public art projects include installations at the Southwestern Pennsylvania World War II Memorial in Pittsburgh; the American Red Cross Headquarters and National Academies of Science in Washington, D.C.; Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan. In Oregon, Kirkland designed the “x’s and o’s” sculpture outside the football stadium at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and has designed pieces for the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the Portland International Airport, and the Story Garden in Portland.

Kirkland has received a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and has served as a juror on numerous art and architecture competitions and programs. He also serves on the Public Art Network Council of Americans for the Arts.