Greg Hardy: Landscape and Memory

Greg Hardy is one of Canada’s pre-eminent painters of the western landscape. Beginning in the early 1970s, Hardy participated in many of the renowned Emma Lake Artists’ Workshops in Saskatchewan. There, he painted alongside artists working in a variety of mediums and visual languages, including Dorothy Knowles and Robert Christie. Hardy’s formative years at Emma Lake continue to influence his practice today, particularly in how he uses colour and captures the energy and light of his surroundings. In Landscape and Memory, Hardy pays close attention to specific times of day and observes an emotional correlation that is expressed primarily through his use of colour.

Hardy’s dynamic new paintings are a continuation of his signature landscapes, those inspired by Lac La Ronge in Northern Saskatchewan and the prairies surrounding his studio just outside of Saskatoon. Hardy gives particular attention to the markings made by the light on the land as it shifts throughout the day. He notes that as the light changes and the day progresses, so do his emotional reactions. While bright, midday light evokes feelings of lightheartedness and exuberance, sunset and dusk are portrayed with a more serene palette and the landscape is washed with an atmospheric glow. For Hardy, the intensity of colour evokes memories of these specific moments that often feel surreal at the time.

Landscape and Memory borrows its title from Simon Schama’s seminal book of the same name.  Like Schama describes in his text, Hardy sees both real landscapes and ‘landscapes of the mind’.