The Unruly Art of Don Ed Hardy is a site-specific installation created by Hardy for the Artists Gallery. It will include cast resin work layered with vintage Hardy acetate tattoo stencils, porcelain pieces with cobalt handwork, original prints, and large-scale original brush paintings. Also included will be a replica tattoo shop in a tiny closet space in the gallery: much like ones he observed in the 1950s complete with sheets of “flash” (painted designs), ink, and tattoo machines, it will reanimate the aura of that art in a bygone era.

Hardy has produced a substantial body of original paintings, sculptures, and prints that are informed not only by his lifelong involvement with tattoo, but also his far-reaching knowledge of historic Japanese forms of expression and Western and Asian art history. Hardy’s art draws on multicultural iconography and vernacular sources such as low rider car culture, surf culture, and comic books, along with tattoos.

The Unruly Art of Don Ed Hardy
June 9 – August 25, 2011

Opening reception:
Thursday, June 9, 2011
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
SFMOMA Artist Gallery at Fort Mason