Dave Hardy’s polyurethane-foam constructions have a singularity in the deployment of the material. He soaks his foam in concrete and then twists and folds it into improbable switchbacks and fleshlike extensions. During the curing process Hardy often adds common object like pencils, pressing these materials into the slowly ossifying form. Thus, permanent depressions and distortions register the pressure, in a way that is not dissimilar to the performative syntax of some forms of dance, such as contact improv.
The sculpture seems to emerge from a photograph acting as a support; the image is thought of as an object and vice versa.
Dave Hardy imbues industrial and depersonalized materials with corporality, and reactivates everyday objects as precarious supports.