Greg Hardy

Saskatchewan NAC Auction House Biography and Notes

Gregory Hardy was born in Saskatoon in 1950. He attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto to study Media Studies (1970-1972), but is self taught as a painter, influenced by other artists such as Saskatchewan's Dorothy Knowles. His work has been exhibited since 1974 in both solo and group shows across Canada. Hardy's landscape paintings depict Saskatchewan's natural life - clouds, fields, forests, and skies - often using thick, textured layers of paint and a range of brushstrokes. About the scenes that inspire him, Hardy says, "Although I have explored abstract and figurative imagery, the landscape has been my primary source of inspiration. Having lived in rural situations for many years, I have been able to observe, on a daily basis, the ever changing visual phenomena in the environment. The changing relationships in the landscape: the light, the season, the space, have been the focus of my concerns as a painter." Hardy has taught art at the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts (Fort San, 1975-1980), the University of Alberta (1987), and Memorial University (Newfoundland, 1999). Hardy's work is represented in numerous collections, including those of the Canada Council Art Bank, the Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon), MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina), University of Alberta, Hines International (Boston), Household International (Chicago), Shell Oil (Calgary), Confederation Centre of the Arts (Charlottetown), and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Greg Hardy lives at his farm near Meacham, Saskatchewan.