Paris, 2006

Born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, Armando Suarez first began his series of incarnations at the age of eight, when he started baking bread with his father in a local bakery. His interests were as diverse as the culture that surrounded him and, fascinated by architecture and design, he was everything from a gymnast and a hair stylist to a bicycle racer and a taxi driver in Buenos Aires before venturing to New York in 1970. The city made his acquaintance at the corner of Bleecker Street and McDougal and at various art shows where he exhibited his jewelry and hand-tooled leather. Some of the more prestigious juried arts and crafts shows that he displayed in during that time were at Ann Arbor, Coconut Grove, Los Olas and Lincoln Center. The real turning point in his career came as a lengthy hiatus in 1988 when he first opened "Armando's Restaurant" on a little corner in Onancock, VA. It started out as a quaint pizzeria with a three piece classical music ensemble and grew into a full-service restaurant with a modern/eclectic menu and a martini bar with jazz. After 18 years, he sold the business, took a year off to travel to Europe and then called his friend in Upstate New York who had kept all of his tools of the trade from the 70s. Perhaps the single most common theme throughout his life has been his ability to redefine and reinvent himself. Residing on the Eastern Shore of Virginia today, his work is retro 70s with a nuvo twist as he incorporates dense metal with natural and recycled materials such as matte, glazed and raku-fired ceramic, wood, leather, glass and stone.