Career Summary

Metal-Sculptor-Andrea-La-Valleur-Purvis in her Texas Studio
The Artist in her Waco, Texas Studio, 2025 - Photo by Nick Cline

Career Summary

Over three decades, I have built a creative practice defined by rigorous problem-solving, material transformation, and an enduring curiosity about how humans navigate complexity. My career began in visual design for technology brands during a pivotal era of digital innovation and has evolved into a sculptural practice that transforms industrial materials into kinetic works exploring resilience, play, and questions without easy answers.

Creative Leadership in Technology (2006-2022)

My early career was shaped by the emergence of mobile computing and digital platforms. In 2010, I designed one of the first parking applications for iOS when Apple opened the App Store to developers—work that led to a contract role at Microsoft. Throughout the 2010s, I led visual design for complex software, mobile applications, and integrated marketing campaigns for technology brands, focusing on simplifying UX, reducing visual noise and balancing composition with negative space — this would later define my sculptural work.

A significant chapter was my 3.5-year engagement with a telecommunications startup incubated within Facebook and seed-funded by twelve leading global telcos. Working in a full-time freelance capacity alongside Facebook’s staff and leadership, I designed event creative and digital solutions for major international conferences in London and Amsterdam, translating complex technological concepts into compelling visual narratives for industry leaders.

Transition to Sculpture (2023–Present)

At 46, after six years living in Europe, I relocated to the United States and returned to my earliest love: contemporary art. Drawing from my upbringing between Cambridge, UK, and central Germany, and a lifetime exploring Europe’s historical sites and art museums, I approach sculpture with a European sensibility for material rigor and conceptual depth.

My practice centers on large-scale metal sculptures, often incorporating kinetic elements activated by wind and viewer interaction. Working primarily in steel, I transform unyielding industrial materials into works that explore how humans adapt to their circumstances. Color, geometric form, negative space, and scale remain central to my visual language. My signature reddish-orange has become a recognizable element, creating continuity while each piece pursues its own formal and conceptual questions.

Since establishing my practice, I have secured significant recognition: a 2023 public art commission for three large-scale sculptures for the City of Waco; a 2024 first-place recognition at the Sheraton Georgetown; selection for the 2025 Marfa Invitational and commission with AC Hotel Waco Downtown (Marriott). My work now resides in private collections and corporate environments, and I am actively pursuing building a new body of work, alongside a residency and gallery representation for 2026.

Artistic Philosophy

I have always been drawn to questions without simple resolutions. The skills honed over decades in technology—attention to composition, scale, pattern, and negative space—now manifest in three-dimensional form. My sculptures embody my transformation: proof that rigid materials can express movement, that industrial forms can embody play, and that even in life’s most challenging moments, there is energy and beauty to be found.

 

Photo by Nick Cline