Acrylique, huile, pigment iridescent, impressions au jet d’encre, polyester, bois, aluminium, 2020
Untitled (Performing Night) stems from a period of research focused on specific material and atmospheric explorations. An interest in the productive tensions among obscuring, revealing, and highlighting the complex nature of painting as both image and object led to the production of several paintings using semi-transparent synthetic fabrics. The work features a striking chromatic contrast between iridescent amber and nocturnal blue, reminiscent of romantic traditions that capture transitory moments of dawn and dusk. At the same time, its materiality and artistic intentions firmly anchor it within a contemporary discourse of despecified painting.
Paul Hardy is an artist and educator based in Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal. His ambiguous and abstract paintings and drawings are experiential objects, metaphors, and poetic ciphers marked by relentless material exploration and a continual searching. A sensual and affective charge resonates as screens and palimpsests recur, raising questions about how we observe, how perception is shaped, and how meaning is made and lost. Hardy holds an MFA from Concordia University and a BA from Université de Moncton. His work is in the collections of the Royal Bank of Canada, the Claridge Collection, Collection Loto-Québec, Telus, and numerous other corporate and private collections. Recent notable solo exhibitions include Screen Memories at Bellemare Lambert (Montréal), The Waves at Parisian Laundry (Montréal), and Study for Ways to Live at Centre CLARK (Montréal).