Hunt Slonem was born in Kittery, Maine, in 1951. After completing studies at Tulane University of Louisiana with a Bachelor of Arts, he studied painting at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in New York. He was awarded numerous scholarships, among other the National Endowment for the Arts Grant in Painting (1991).
His works can be found worldwide in numerous private as well as public collections. In the meantime, Hunt Slonem is undoubtedly one of the most flamboyant and exciting figures in the New York art scene. Especially in the American movie and music industry, many famous celebrities have discovered and come to appreciate his imaginative and expressive art.
His works have already been on display in numerous international solo exhibitions. In the USA, the famous Marlborough Gallery represents the New York painter exclusively. Furthermore, Hunt Slonem has already participated successfully in important art projects such as “Art in Embassies”.
Over fifty museums worldwide have his pictures in their collections, among them the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim Museum and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.
Furthermore, his works can be found in collections such as those of American Telephone and Telegraph, the Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Continental Airlines, Goldman Sachs & Co., IBM Corporation, the Marriot Corporation, Paine Webber Inc. and Readers Digest Inc..
On the basis of a fascination with exotica that Hunt Slonem discovered during his childhood in Hawaii and a stay in Managua, Nicaragua, as an exchange student, the artist has indulged his interest in tropical flora and fauna in the heart of New York since 1973.
Birds, butterflies or blossoms populate his supremely colourful works in serial sequences.
In particular, various species of birds appear as a constantly recurring principal motif – serving as symbols of a spirituality that can already been found in the early works of the artist.
The results are figurative pictures on structured backgrounds that are reminiscent of wallpaper patterns. Expression and concrete representation coalesce in an explosion of vibrant colourfulness.