Anthony Hunter - Flowing Color

Abstracted, fluid, flat, bright areas of color and drips reminiscent of Jackson Pollock’s action paintingt - the young British painter, Anthony Hunter (b. Lancashire, England, 1987) has a singular vision. While young, Hunter has already worked with one of the biggest names in art as an assistant to Damien Hirst.

Glistening, glossy oil paint spans the surfaces in his works with attention to material, texture and color. Hunter utilizes the fluidity of his chosen medium to compose almost lyrically on the surface using his body as another tool to pour, pull, and scrape the paint. The effect is visceral.

Hunter’s chromatic compositions often juxtapose nuanced hues with complementary, flat, resonant areas of bold color. His handling of the medium is free, yet refined with nods to the tenets of Color Field (especially Rothko) and the gestural abstraction of action painting. Hunter’s focus on medium and process is evident in his careful consideration in choosing to work with such a difficult material as gloss - taking months to dry, yet effective in achieving an unparalleled smooth yet dimensional surface. 

A distinguishing and intriguing feature of Hunter’s work is his undeniably wry sense of humor with titles such as as Curious Big Black Square Running Away from Black Blob Over There Painting and If in Doubt, Get your Paints Out, Throw them About and Shout Painting. In a contemporary art world filled with works named “Untitled”, Hunter’s approach is a refreshing and cunningly humorous take on the institution of art historical canon.