Charles Hardaker RBA, NEAC (b. 1934)

       Charles Everest Hardaker is a distinguished British painter known for his introspective still-lifes, interiors, landscapes, portraits, murals, and various series of inter-related images His work is unified by a philosophical vision; using everyday subjects to probe deeper truths. His major series reflect a sophisticated blend of religious narrative, architectural form, personal introspection, and formal abstraction. Whether painting biblical cycles, studio interiors, or quiet still lives, he balances technical precision with spiritual inquiry. 

Hardaker was born in Oxford and studied at the Birmingham College of Arts and Crafts (1949–53). He served his National Service with the Royal Artillery (1953–55) before enrolling at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London, graduating as an Associate (ARCA) in 1958. His talent was quickly recognised and he was able to establish a successful art career that has spanned from the early 1960s to the present day, still working in his nineties. 

Many of his works can be connected to form three major series: scriptural based paintings such as those for Townley Hall in Ireland depicting the "Seven Day of Genesis" (seven paintings) and "The Gospel of Thomas" (eleven paintings); interior/ "doors" series (numerous paintings, mid-1960's onwards), and, still-lifes (numerous paintings, early 1960s onwards). 

He works predominantly in oil on canvas or board, often painting directly from life with traditional materials. He develops initial drawings with carefully arranged geometric shapes before proceeding to layered, thoughtful compositions. In this way his art explores geometry as a symbol of higher meaning, striving to capture a sense of mystery and wonder in everyday scenes and seeking to express higher truths through the use of this visual forms. For example, cubic and architectural motifs that reference Platonic ideals (e.g. the cube in Timaeus) are depicted juxtaposed with immediate sensory experience. His work in this vein can therefore be seen as a fascinating amelioration of atmospheric symbolist-realism as practiced by artists such as Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) and the abstract geometric symbolism of artists such as Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) and Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), as well as the spiritual geometry that appears in religious art across human cultures throughout time and space.