My painting and drawing practice flows between intentionality and intuition as I think through the act of making. My works are experiential objects, metaphors, and poetic ciphers characterized by relentless material explorations and constant searching. Together, they move through and map different and disparate historical and personal references into a unique vision that investigates the nature of creative processes, the act of painting, and notions of selfhood.

This inquisitive nature gives rise to discursive making, evident in both the stylistic diversity and the rich surfaces that accrue. Works are made and unmade as they engage with numerous historical genres. Over extended periods, they develop, change, inform and rearrange themselves as themes and complementary qualities arise. A sensual yet pathos-laden charge is felt as screens and palimpsests recur, questioning how we look, how perception is shaped, and how meaning is made and lost.

Despite the tension provoked by this opacity, a quiet sense of urgency emerges. Modest quasi-figurations and atmospheric abstractions coexist with their environments in deeply considered ways. These works reward a deep engagement with looking and embody a strange irreconcilability as they establish their terms and follow their inherent logic.

Paul Hardy (he/him) is an artist and educator based in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal. He holds an MFA from Concordia University and a BA from Université de Moncton. Recent notable solo exhibitions include Screen Memories at Bellemare Lambert, Study for Ways to Live at Centre Clark, and The Waves at Parisian Laundry. His work is included in collections such as the Royal Bank of Canada, Collection Desjardins, the Claridge Collection, Loto-Québec, Telus, and numerous other corporate and private collections. He is represented by Galeries Roger Bellemare et Christian Lambert.