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At the age of 90, beloved Portland artist Tom Hardy has decided to shutter his studio and take life a little more slowly. Problem is, nine decades of life tends to leave one's studio chock full of accumulated stuff.
What to do with it?
Hardy is holding a sale, the goal of which is to liquidate everything in one fell swoop: hundreds of his drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures, as well as books, furniture, lighting, antiques, and artworks by other artists he has collected, such as Mel Katz, Sherrie Wolf, and Bruce Taggart.
A longtime arts educator as well as a nationally exhibited painter, Hardy was most recently showcased last December by gallerist/curator Mark Woolley, who mounted a mini-retrospective at the old Ogle Gallery space in Old Town.
âTo me,â Woolley tells WW, âTom Hardy is the epitome of the independent Oregon spirit. Even though he has traveled extensively in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, he has made art that is a reflection of his place in the world, which has always been grounded in Oregon. Heâs also one of the last of his era in terms of how multi-faceted he is, having started in ceramics, then moved on to carved wooden work, welded steel, welded bronze, cast bronze, etchings, watercolors, every medium that was available to him.â
Hardy in his studio
tomhardystudio.com
While Hardyâs range is broad, encompassing diverse media and a stylistic command of portraiture, nudes, landscapes, and gestural abstraction, it is as an abstract painter that the artist is arguably at his best. His intuitive sense of composition and technical verve have earned him a place in the pantheon of notable Northwest artists.
GO: The sales event is from 10 am-4 pm, Friday-Saturday, June 22-23, and noon-3 pm, Sunday, June 24, at 3449 N. Anchor St., Suite 600. For more details click here.
WWeek 2015