Artlyst attended Modern Art Oxford – currently presenting ‘FIELD’, an exhibition of major new works by acclaimed British artist Anne Hardy. Hardy creates environments which incorporate sculptural installation, photography and audio. The works are subtle and immersive drawing the viewer into installational soundscapes.
Image: Anne Hardy, FIELD, Modern Art Oxford, Photo P A Black © Artlyst 2015.
Hardy constructs using wood, concrete, carpet and an array of other found materials, creating fields of work to explore. She also uses photography, text, light, colour and carefully composed audio landscapes. Her work includes objects salvaged from the streets, and references the fictional worlds of authors such as JG Ballard, Tom McCarthy and Haruki Murakami.
The artist’s Fields envelop the visitor, offering ambiguous physical and psychological experiences. These environments have been described as ‘physically existent head spaces’ which are both functional and illusory, giving the impression that they are inhabited spaces which continue with their own activities once an encounter with them is over.
Image: Anne Hardy, FIELD, Modern Art Oxford, Photo P A Black © Artlyst 2015.
Hardy creates spaces of strong shifting colour, interspersed with abstracted sculptural forms, allusions to sound in the form of looped and hanging tape, and the incorporation of the juxtaposition of audio drawing the viewer into a fascinating dialectic. Listen to an excerpt from one of the artist’s immersive soundscapes below.
Image: Anne Hardy, FIELD, Modern Art Oxford, Photo P A Black © Artlyst 2015.
About the artist:
Anne Hardy lives and works in London, and studied at the Royal College of Art (2000). Solo exhibitions include; TWIN FIELDS, The Common Guild, Glasgow, 2015; rrmmmph, huooghg, op, mmmuuoow, ip , FIG-2, ICA studio, London, 2015; Fieldworks, Kunstverein Freiburg, 2014; Vienna Secession, 2012; Maureen Paley, 2013; New Acquisitions from the Arts Council Collection 2010, Anne Hardy — Recent Work, Project Space, Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 2010. In 2012, the artist book Anne Hardy Secession was published to accompany her exhibition at the Vienna Secession. Hardy’s work has been included in group exhibitions both in the UK and internationally, including Mirrorcity at The Hayward Gallery, London, 2014. Hardy took up artist residencies at Camden Arts Centre, London, 2011 and Live in the Studio at Modern Art Oxford, 2014, to develop a live performance work. Anne Hardy is represented by Maureen Paley, London.
Photos: P A Black © Artlyst 2015
Anne Hardy: Field – Modern Art Oxford – until 10 January 2016