Hunt Slonem
Untitled , 2019
When Hunt Slonem enters his studio each morning, he warms up by painting bunnies. Slonem, who has …
Considered one of the great colorists of his time, his paintings feature an exuberant and bold, …
Artist and collector Hunt Slonem is best known for huge Neo-Expressionist oil paintings of tropical birds based on his personal aviary. His lavishly colored canvases are populated with rows of birds rendered with thick brushstrokes. “I was influenced by Warhol's repetition of soup cans and Marilyn,” Slonem says. “But I'm more interested in doing it in the sense of prayer, with repetition... It's really a form of worship.” According to The New York Times art critic Roberta Smith, “This witty Formalist strategy meshes the creatures into the picture plane and sometimes nearly obliterates them as images, but it also suspends and shrouds them in a dim, atmospheric light that is quite beautiful.” Besides the birds, Slonem also paints repetitions of flowers, bunnies, butterflies, as well as portraits, particularly of Abraham Lincoln.
When Hunt Slonem enters his studio each morning, he warms up by painting bunnies. Slonem, who has owned rabbits as pets since childhood, began painting the creatures in sweeping brushstrokes in the 1980s because he was drawn to their simple, cuddly shapes. “One night I was having Chinese food, and I looked down and …
Considered one of the great colorists of his time, his paintings feature an exuberant and bold, fauvist palette to emphasize his beloved menagerie of animals. His spiritual practice provides the inspiration for his Warholesque repetitive compositions.
Artist and collector Hunt Slonem is best known for huge Neo-Expressionist oil paintings of tropical birds based on his personal aviary. His lavishly colored canvases are populated with rows of birds rendered with thick brushstrokes. “I was influenced by Warhol's repetition of soup cans and Marilyn,” Slonem says. “But I'm more interested in doing it in the sense of prayer, with repetition... It's really a form of worship.” According to The New York Times art critic Roberta Smith, “This witty Formalist strategy meshes the creatures into the picture plane and sometimes nearly obliterates them as images, but it also suspends and shrouds them in a dim, atmospheric light that is quite beautiful.” Besides the birds, Slonem also paints repetitions of flowers, bunnies, butterflies, as well as portraits, particularly of Abraham Lincoln.
