Anne Hardy

Hardy earned a painting degree from Cheltenham School of Art (1993) and an MA in photography from the Royal College of Art (2000). Her initial practice involved meticulously constructing studio environments, which were then photographed and dismantled. These crafted sets, incorporating found objects and handmade elements, established her distinctive approach to exploring the boundary between depiction and abstraction through works like ‘Lumber’ (2003). Hardy’s career evolved to encompass immersive, site-specific sculptural installations, characterized by environments blurring realism and illusion, engaging viewers with composed physical and audio landscapes.

Her first USA solo exhibition premiered at Bellwether Gallery, New York (2008); the same year her work appeared in a group show at Gagosian Gallery, New York, and at the Helsinki Biennale (until January 2009). She held major solo shows at the Secession in Vienna (September 2012) and Kunstverein Freiburg (September 2014). Her sculptural installation ‘Two Joined Fields’ highlighted the ‘Mirrorcity’ exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London (October 2014 – January 2015). In 2019, Hardy received a significant commission for the Tate Britain Winter Commission, creating ‘The Depth of Darkness, the Return of the Light’, transforming the museum’s facade with light, drapery, and quadrophonic sound.

More recently, Anne Hardy served as an Artist In Residence at the CHINATI FOUNDATION in Marfa, TX, and was nominated for the distinguished MARIO MERZ PRIZE by Fondazione Merz, Turin, in 2022. She also released a new publication, ‘SURVIVAL SPELL’, co-published by Maureen Paley, London, and Dent–de–Leone. Her upcoming solo exhibition at VISUAL Carlow, Ireland, is scheduled from January to May 2026, continuing to showcase her innovative exploration of depiction and abstraction through large-scale sculptural installations and photography.