"With this show, Hardy examines how identity is read, evaluated, and negotiated through appearance-how clothing, hair, and presentation become social shorthand for character, belonging, and value. Rather than treating style as a site of self-celebration alone, Hardy is interested in the pressures that arise once identity becomes legible, and in the subtle negotiations individuals make within systems of judgment. His figures move through systems that reward conformity and measure difference, revealing how belonging is often conditional rather than assured."
"The centerpiece of the exhibition is the wall-spanning diptych Window Shopping. The painting depicts the outside of an upscale department store, with window displays for elaborate men's and women's fashion and stylish passers-by making their way along the sidewalk. Hardy's brilliant use of color brings a vibrancy to a scene dominated by richly opposing red and green. Each fold, crease, shine, and pattern on the clothing is lovingly rendered, recalling the work of Kerry James Marshall or Derek Fordjour."
Glenn Hardy Jr. examines how identity is read, evaluated, and negotiated through appearance—clothing, hair, and presentation operate as social shorthand for character, belonging, and value. Hardy highlights pressures that arise when identity becomes legible and the subtle negotiations individuals make within systems of judgment. Figures in the works move through systems that reward conformity and measure difference, showing belonging as conditional rather than assured. Hardy interrogates how Black bodies are seen and assessed while portraying stylistic excellence as reputational armor and a source of joy, experimentation, and play. Window Shopping and Soar Thumb explore access, desire, visibility, exclusion, and aspirational leisure.
Read at Juxtapoz
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