Hunt Slonem American, b. 1951
Bringing a freewheeling sense of awe, wonder and detail to his wild array of paintings and sculptures and peaceful, mystical living and working spaces, NYC based artist and lifestyle trendsetter Hunt Slonem is considered one of the great colorists of his time. Slonem has had over 300 one-man shows in galleries and museums internationally. His work is also in the permanent collections of 250 museums including the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, and the Moreau Foundation, and is part of private collections all over the world, including those of many celebrities.
Bringing a freewheeling sense of awe, wonder and detail to his wild array of paintings and sculptures and peaceful, mystical living and working spaces, NYC based artist and lifestyle trendsetter Hunt Slonem is considered one of the great colorists of his time.
As vibrant a dresser and decorator as he is a painter and sculptor, the Maine born creative force of nature is well known for his neo-expressionist works of butterflies, rabbits and tropical birds, the latter often inspired by the 30 to 100 exotic feathered friends he houses at any given time in an aviary in his 30,000 square foot Manhattan studio. Slonem has had over 300 one-man shows in galleries and museums internationally. His work is also in the permanent collections of 250 museums including the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, and the Moreau Foundation, and is part of private collections all over the world, including those of many celebrities.
As a founding element of his process, Slonem likes to say, “Repetition is very important.” He starts each day painting, treating each moment as one of profound meditation and channeling of God or a higher consciousness. Included in this ritual are his famous bunny paintings – the result of a daily morning warm-up that was sparked during a late-night revelation at a Chinese restaurant: that he was born in the Year of the Rabbit. His famous Bunny Wall combines his art with his passion for collecting, as the paintings are exhibited in Victorian-era portrait frames picked up from his travels across the country.
In March 2014, Slonem published, just in time for Easter, Bunnies, a luxurious, finely designed and crafted first collection of “bunny art” – an exciting, unexpected, impressionistic mega collection for adults and children alike. A treasury filled with enchanting full-color and black-and-white paintings, Bunnies features a foreward by bestselling author John Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and an essay by artist and gallerist Bruce Helander. Berendt beautifully captures the magical springing to life of these rabbit figures when he writes: “Every morning, upon rising - even before he's had his first cup of coffee - Hunt Slonem performs his daily warm-ups . He approaches his worktable where a stack of small rectangular panels awaits. Some of the panels are made of wood, some of masonite. In the course of the next half hour he will have populated all the panels with rabbits. These paintings are what he calls his warm-ups.”
As the son of a Navy officer, Slonem spent his childhood on military bases: growing orchids in Hawaii, collecting stamps in Louisiana, and chasing those butterflies in Nicaragua—the place that inspired him most. The tropical landscape informed not only his process, but also his need to be surrounded by the nature he paints; he often works with a bird or two perched on his shoulder. Hundreds of birds also fill the surface of one of his largest ever projects – a 6’x 86’ mural he painted for the iconic Bryant Park Grill Restaurant in NYC. His renowned sculptures include “Tocos,” an 18-foot acrylic and aluminum tower of toucans installed in Metairie, LA. A graduate in Painting and Art History from Tulane University in New Orleans, Slonem has also done large sculpture commissions of rabbits, butterflies and toucans in various spots in Southern Louisiana.
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Red Redefined
The Evocative Power of the Color Red 1 - 28 Feb 2022 Laguna Beach, Palm DesertDawson Cole Fine Art presents an exhibition of works by gallery artists – “Red Redefined.” The group show consists of fourteen works and includes paintings, bronze sculpture, prints, and hand-blown glass by gallery artists.Read more -
LOVE + MODERN BEAUTY
30 Jan - 15 Feb 2021 Laguna BeachDawson Cole Fine Art is pleased to present 'LOVE + MODERN BEAUTY' from January 30- February 15, 2021. There’s something to be said about the holiday’s celebration of love, and...Read more
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The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel + Hunt Slonem
World of Folly 2022 August 17, 2022 -
Curated Coastal
Issue 4 March 22, 2022 -
El Paseo
Palm Desert 2022 January 1, 2022 -
Palm Springs Life
Style Guide January 2022 January 1, 2022 -
Dawson Cole Fine Art Highlighted: The Best of California 2021
224 Reasons to Love the Golden State: Dawson Cole Fine Art, Laguna Beach May 19, 2021 -
Local Arts
Summer 2019 October 22, 2020 -
Pelican Hill Magazine
Spring 2019 September 22, 2020 -
Pelican Hill Summer 2019
September 18, 2020 -
Pelican Hill Fall 2018
September 18, 2020 -
California Homes
Architects & Builders 2020 September 4, 2020 -
Montage Spring Cover
August 18, 2020 -
Study in Sustainability
May 20, 2020 -
American Masters
May 5, 2020 -
California Homes Magazine August 2019
Shopping for Art in Laguna Beach August 1, 2019Celebrating its 22nd year, Dawson Cole Fine Art was recently featured in California Homes Magazine's August 2019 issue as one of the 'go to' places...Read more
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Hunt SlonemHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth (Blue), 2022Oil on wood20 x 16"
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Hunt SlonemHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth (Pink), 2022Oil on wood20 x 16"
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Hunt SlonemHunt Slonem: Bunnies, 2019Publication14.25 x 8.6 x 1.2 in.$ 250.00
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Hunt SlonemWorld of Folly, 2019Publication7.5 x 5 3/8 in.$ 250.00
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Hunt SlonemLine, 2022Oil on wood10 x 8"
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Hunt SlonemUntitled, Bunny on Coquelicot, 2018Oil on wood10 x 8"
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Hunt SlonemSlonem Bunnies, 2016Lithograph18 x 21"$ 3,200.00
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Hunt SlonemUntitled, Bunny on Teal, 2016Oil on wood10 x 8"