Hunt Slonem: Magnificent Menagerie

Hunt Slonem is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker best known for his Neo-Expressionist paintings of tropical birds.

Despite living in the heart of Manhattan since the 1970s, Slonem has remained true to his boyhood fascination with exotica. This fascination developed as a youth living in Hawaii and his time as a foreign exchange student. His paintings express a passion for nature, particularly the various species of exotic butterflies and tropical birds. His personal aviary is also a large influence on his work. The Rabbit series began in 1980 and continues to be a large part of his current work.  This series was inspired by the realization that the year of his birth, 1951, was the year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac calendar.  For Slonem, the act of visual repetition of subject matter is akin to spiritual meditation.

“I would say my whole life could be summed up by the word “˜exotica'” –Hunt Slonem.