Patricia Hardmeier is a multidisciplinary artist whose current practice is focused on oil-based monotypes. Drawing on her background in ballet, flamenco, and graphic design, her work explores the relationship between movement and mark-making. Her prints are deeply informed by the emotional and physical language of dance—each gesture echoing the fluidity, tension, and spontaneity found in performance.
For Hardmeier, the simple desire to move—the joy and instinct behind it—is one of the purest expressions of life. This impulse drives the movement of ink across the plate, with the motivations that guide a dancer’s body also shaping the flow of pigment in her compositions. Just as dance exists only in the moment and fades into memory, the process of monotype printing destroys the original image, leaving behind a singular print—a trace of the original movement, unrepeatable and final.
Working primarily on aluminium or copper plates, she uses oil-based inks and an array of tools—rags, scrapers, brushes, paper, and squeegees—to create gestural, abstract forms. Embracing the immediacy and risk inherent in the medium, her monotypes reflect a balance of control and intuition. The spontaneity of mark-making—where each gesture is irreversible—has empowered her to embrace imperfection and openness in her work. A turning point came when she began experimenting with a printmaking squeegee, which introduced a new visual language and further expanded her expressive range.
Hardmeier’s aim is to create space within each work for the viewer’s own interpretation—to invite a personal, mental dance through the abstract gestures on paper. Over time, her work has evolved into an instinct-driven process, bridging the precision of her design background with the fluid expressiveness of her performative roots.
“The main thing is to be moved, to love,
to hope, to tremble, to live.”
She received a BFA with distinction in Graphics and Movement-Based Design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and later studied monotype with Bob Boreman at his studio. Prior to focusing on printmaking, she worked as a designer and art director for top studios in Zürich and Los Angeles, receiving international recognition for her contributions to both print and motion graphics.
Hardmeier continues to explore new techniques within the monotype process and has exhibited internationally, including at the London Art Biennale, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, Los Angeles Art Association, The Other Art Fair in Santa Monica, and Superfine! Art Fair in Los Angeles. Her work is held in private collections across North America and Europe. She is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland.
Similarly to how dance is created by movement and ceased to be when the movement stops, becomes only a memory, the creation of the monotype print destroys my artwork, and the singular copy becomes the only reflection of my work.
My objective is to create expressive art that leaves space for the viewer to engage and find their own story, their own mental dance in what they see.
The beauty about monotypes lies in spontaneity and deliberate action. Once you make a mark, it cannot be corrected. There is no right or wrong, just consequences. This empowered me to open myself to the canvas and be more expressive. Over time, I settled into the new process and instinctually my pieces evolved into gestural abstract paintings.
Past Exhibitions
2021, London Art Biennale, London
2020, Open Show, Los Angeles Art Association
2020, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London
2020, Field of Vision, Los Angeles Art Association
2020, Gleaming Apollo, Los Angeles Art Association
2020, Superfine! Art Fair, Los Angeles
2019, The Other Art Fair, Los Angeles
2019, Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica Art Walk, Santa Monica CA
2019, Venice Art Crawl, Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice CA
2016, HaleARTS, Group exhibition, Santa Monica CA
Member of Los Angeles Art Association