Hardy Hanson was born and raised in Long Beach, California and was educated at Long Beach City College, UCLA, and Yale University, where he studied under Josef Albers. Hardy went on to teach at San Fernando Valley Junior College; California State University Northridge; UCLA; USC; and finally, as Professor of Art Emeritus at Porter College, UCSC, for 29 years. He was a core member of the UCSC Art Department.
At UCSC, Hardy formed lifelong friendships with numerous fellow colleagues and long-standing relationships with multitudes of students. Informed by his own interdisciplinary studio practices, he shaped the ambitions of hundreds of young artists by inspiring and validating a rigorous and genuine inquiry. Known for his profound dedication, he mentored many of his former students after graduation, even after his retirement, as he continued to show a genuine interest in their personal lives and creative aspirations. An articulate and inquisitive teacher, Hardy taught the visual fundamentals of drawing and painting informed by his own passionate convictions, sharp intellect, and humor. He believed that discipline, introspection, honesty and integrity served as the touchstones of the creative process and they formed the basis of his teaching philosophy. His serious approach to teaching demanded and brought out the best in his students.
A prolific and multi-dimensional artist, Hardy’s works grace several museums and numerous private collections. In his solo exhibitions, his beautiful and intricate works revealed his cerebral interests and sensitive thought process. In a career that spanned six decades, Hardy’s continued experimentation with scale, color, and form enabled him to explore timeless themes through the use of diverse mediums. This evolution culminated in a series of exquisite pointillist paintings that compose his “Meditation Series.”
When not in his studio, Hardy’s artistic expression took its most powerful and enduring form in the four-acre terraced garden surrounding the home he and his wife Ruth designed and built in 1971. An insatiable collector, he was an early proponent of “repurposing” as evidenced by the truckloads of reclaimed concrete slabs that defined the numerous terraces that transformed their hilly and rugged property. His fine art also emphasized the challenge of using found materials to express his vision of the world and its meaning. His creative vision ranged from the macro, sculpted hillsides, to the micro, intricate lapidary constructions. Hardy’s fertile mind found no object too mundane to escape his use; from the common fish-hook to the obsolete transistor, anything in quantity was rich inspiration for his imagination. His endless patience was evidenced in his dozens of espaliered fruit trees and intricate wall-pieces composed of hundreds of repeated found objects.
Hardy and Ruth’s shared passions included politics, travel, books and literature, and gardening. Lifelong Democrats, their passionate political expression was ignited during the Sixties and continued throughout the duration of his life. Their avid curiosity and open hearts lead to trips to Europe, India and Mexico as well as all over the States and a shared love of reading resulted in a home overflowing with books of every genre. Together their love and passion changed their raw hillside acreage into a rich source of visual pleasure. The daily rhythms of nature suited his artistic habits.
He prefaced his artist’s statement for one of his last exhibitions with a haiku by Issa:
Climb Mount Fuji
Oh snail
But slowly, slowly