Eldest son of Australian artist Pro Hart. I have grown up in the Arts industry, surrounded by my fathers collection that represented some of the most significant national and international artists.
As an artist my primary concern is the formal aspects of art, that is the aesthetics of a painting; the techniques used to establish a sense of order with the painting. Concerns such as composition, perspective, colour, line, visual pathways, the grid, colour balance, and variation of pattern and shape are the motivators for me to make art. The development of these features to a satisfying level is of the utmost importance to me. I do my best to avoid subjects that are “loaded” with subjects that have a strong idea or prejudice based on popular culture. I understand it would be impossible to produce any work of art that is free of meaning but I strive for an image that is a distillation, something evocative of, the subject but not representative of it.
The landscape is problematic for me. The subject, based on hundreds of years of tradition that strives to represent natural scenery, and buildings and sometimes depict elements arranged into a coherent composition or expressive form of a time and place in history, leaves me with the challenge to find a way into this genre that has been traversed by so many artists over so many centuries. Where do I go from here? What could I possibly add to the conversation that has not been covered before?
This body of work I present is a two-year exploration of a landscape. My intent is to paint the landscape that has been broken down into formal properties of colour, shape and line. Opening it up, creating new forms constructed from paper and aluminium foil that become the subject matter of my paintings.
2000 Bachelor of Visual Art with Honours, Adelaide Central School of Art (ACSA)
1999 New York Studio School Drawing Marathon with Graham Nixon, ACSA
1998 Advanced Diploma of Visual Art, ACSA
1997 New York Studio School Drawing Marathon with Graham Nixon, ACSA Certificate of Visual Art Practice, ACSA
1995 Life Drawing, North Adelaide School of Art
Taylor, Rod; Artdate, Issue 31, March 2000.
Heinrich, Greg; The Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition, Adelaide GT, Issue 187, March 2000
Walker, Wendy; When Art is Poles Apart, The Advertiser, March 2000
Walker, Wendy, The Young Figure it Out, The Advertiser, July 29, 2000
Neylon, John; Masking, Binding, Adelaide Review, February 2001
2020 Sample Broken Hill Regional Gallery
2013 Selfies, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery
2012 Material Forms, Cudgegong Gallery
2010 Recent Works, Libby Edwards Galleries
2010 Emsla Still Life Award Touring Exhibition
2009 Through a Glass Darkly Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery Libby Edwards Galleries, Armidale
2008 Works On Paper 08, Adelaide Central Galleries
2007 analog, House of Phillips Fine Art, Sydney
2004 Recent Works, Cube Contemporary Art
2002 Recent Work, Studio 91b, Adelaide Evocation, SOHO Galleries, Sydney
2001 Athlon, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide
1996 Greenhill Gallery, Adelaide
1995 Anthill Gallery, Adelaide
Xavier College, Melbourne
2012 Three Artists from the Antipodes, Art Center, Nerva, Spain
2011 New England Regional Art Museum
2011 Muswellbrook Arts Centre
2011 Taree Regional Gallery
2008 Works on Paper 08, Adelaide Central Gallery
2007 Broken Archies, Broken Hill Regional Gallery
2003 On the Edge of Sundown, Regional Art Gallery, Broken Hill Dress Undress, Littlewood & Hart, Melbourne SALA Week, Cube Contemporary Art, Adelaide
2002 Melbourne Art Fair, Cube Contemporary Art 2001 7 Up, Studio 91b, Sala Week, Adelaide
2000 Hard Drive, Feast Festival, Adelaide Post-Graduate, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide Nova
2000, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide Adelaide Central Gallery Graduate Exhibition, Adelaide Helpmann Academy Graduate exhibition, Adelaide
1998 SALA Week, Greenhill Gallery, Adelaide
1997 Loretto Art Show, Adelaide
